UMNO’S ENEMY ARE THOSE WHO QUESTION MALAYS’ SPECIAL RIGHTS: SALLEH SAID

(The Sun Daily) – Umno’s enemy are those who question the special rights provided in the country’s social contract to the Malays said Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak.

The Umno Supreme Council member said the party had the responsibility to ensure that the social contract, provided in the Federal Constitution, is not breached by other quarters.

He outlined the five rights which have been agreed in the social contract by the nation’s founding fathers, which are on the the position of the Malay rulers, the Malay language, special rights of the Malays and the Bumiputera, Islam and on citizenship.

“Four of the rights, excluding citizenship, cannot be shared with others and are only for the Malays,” said Salleh who the Communications and Multimedia Minister.

“This is the basis of Umno’s struggle, to ensure that the rights that cannot be shared must be defended. Our enemies are those who try to take away the four rights that cannot be shared with anyone,” he said in his speech at the Information Convention 2016 at Putra World Trade Centre here organised in conjunction with the Umno general assembly.

He said Umno must not deviate from its initial struggle to remain as a party with a clear ideology.

“A party that can remain forever is a party with an ideology. Umno’s ideology is for the ‘bangsa, agama dan negara’ (race, religion and nation). The basis is to defend the four rights in the social contract,” he said.

However, Salleh noted that party members sometimes forget the basis of Umno’s struggle as they were distracted by other matters.

Meanwhile, Salleh named former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as one of the threats and challenges that Umno needed to deal with in ensuring its victory at the next general election.

He said Mahathir’s interference in Umno politics was the reason affecting the number of seats that the party had won in the previous national polls.

He added the number of seats won by Umno increased in 2004 after Mahathir stepped down from his position, but declined in 2008 when the latter launched an attack on the then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“In 2013 GE when there was no interference (from Mahathir), Umno managed to improve the number of constituencies it won to 88 seats,” he said.

“It is clear by just looking at the numbers that Tun (Mahathir) is one of the challenges for us to face,” he added.