PPBM’s Tariq rubbishes Lokman’s ‘ultra-DAP’ claim

PPBM Supreme Council member dismisses Lokman's claim that Mahathir has pushed aside Malays and put DAP's interests at the forefront.

PPBM Supreme Council member Tariq Ismail takes a swipe at Lokman Adam of Umno.

PETALING JAYA: Umno’s Lokman Adam makes the saying “Melayu bodoh” ring true for speaking “hogwash” about Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, says senior PPBM member Tariq Ismail.

He dismissed Lokman’s claim that Mahathir was “ultra-DAP” and had forgotten about the Malays, and pointed out that Malay ministers had been appointed to at least six key Cabinet portfolios dealing with Malay affairs. “None of them are from DAP,” Tariq told FMT.

Malay ministers are in charge of economic affairs, entrepreneur development, rural development, agriculture, housing and domestic trade.

It was exactly this kind of public responses by Umno members like Lokman that made “Melayu bodoh” (a pejorative epithet) ring loud and true, Tariq said.

“Malays are surely not stupid, but due to such people (from Umno), they have become risk-averse.”

Lokman had accused Mahathir of sidelining Malay leaders by appointing DAP leaders to high-ranking portfolios and accused Mahathir, once regarded as a “Malay ultra”, of having turned “ultra DAP”.

Tariq said that 18 of the 28 ministers in Mahathir’s full Cabinet are Malays and only 6 from DAP, while 18 of the 27 deputy ministers are Malays and 8 are DAP members.

“If Lokman means ‘ultra-DAP’ as in meaning ‘ultra-Malaysian Malaysia’, then he is only partially correct,” said Tariq, a PPBM Supreme Council member, and grandson of former deputy prime minister Ismail Abdul Rahman.

Tariq said it was high time the Malays were taught that they were indeed the main drivers of the economy, and if they worked alongside Malaysia’s Chinese and Indian communities, they would be “three times stronger”.

“We need each other to work hand in hand, for we are all born in this land that we call home,” he said. Umno and Lokman needed to learn from their mistakes and do away with race-based rhetoric.

“Mahathir has always promoted the emancipation of Malays by changing their attitudes but in Umno’s warped mind, changing one’s attitude is akin to changing one’s culture,” Tariq said. “The only way for Malaysia to progress is work collectively and move forward together.”

He reminded Umno members that the party’s arrogance had led to its downfall at the general election. Malay voters had rejected Umno’s racial rhetoric, shifting support towards “a coalition that promotes a spirit of working together”.

Lokman is the Barisan Nasional candidate in the Sungai Kandis by-election in Selangor on Aug 4, which is also contested by religious teacher Zawawi Mughni of PKR and independent candidate Murthy Krishnasamy. - Mkini