Resolutions in five general areas made at the Congress

The Malay Dignity Congress has made a series of explosive resolutions in five general areas, which was handed to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

The five areas are in culture, economy, education, religion and politics, and each was presented by various academia and politicians onstage at the Shah Alam Stadium Malawati today.

Among the demands from the Congress is for main positions within the government to only be filled by Malay-Muslims, such as the prime minister, deputy prime minister, menteri besar and chief ministers as well as important ministries such as the finance minister, education minister, defence minister and home affairs minister.

They also want the government to only appoint Malay-Muslims to top positions within the government such as the Chief Justice of Malaysia, attorney-general, secretary-general to the government, inspector-general of police, chief of defence forces and others.

Meanwhile, the minister in charge of religious affairs has to be someone from within the Muslim community who is "respected, knowledgeable and follows Sunni teachings" as well as someone who has sterling performance and is not influenced by "confusing or deviant beliefs or doctrines".

The minister should also not be apologetic towards non-Muslims who do not respect Islam, as well as the religious liberals, according to PAS Deputy Youth Chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who presented the resolutions in the religion cluster today.

The Congress also wants the government to pressure the National Human Rights Commission, the Malaysian Bar, liberal NGOs and other such bodies from intervening in Islamic affairs under the guise of human rights, he said.

There should also be "no compromise" against those who insult or disrespect Islam, he said.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) counsellor Muhammad Za'im Rosli, who was presenting on the culture cluster, also stressed that tough action should be taken against those who challenge or threaten the position of Islam as the federal religion as enshrined in Article 3(1) of the constitution.

Any "outside influences" which spreads deviant ideologies or lifestyles against Islam should be barred from entering the country, he added.

Tough action also needs to be taken to protect and ensure the status of Bahasa Malaysia as the national language, he said.

Similarly, the Education Ministry should focus on the Jawi language "to prove the government's commitment".

Those who try to stop the inclusion of the Jawi script in official businesses should have action taken against them as well, he added. 

This comes after the heated debate in August on whether the Jawi script should be included as part of the Year Four education syllabus.

Among their demands for the education cluster, which was presented by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Upsi) student Nurul Fatin Aqilah Rahim, the Congress asked for the gradual abolition of vernacular schools to make way for single-stream national schools.

"Vernacular schools cannot unite the races for the sake of unity," she said during the presentation.

Meanwhile, for the economic cluster, presented by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) student Muhammad Syafiq Jebat, he urged for various policies prioritising the Malays.

This is to narrow the economic gap between the Malay and other races, he said.

Lastly, Abdul Muqit Muhammad from Universiti Malaya (UM) who presented on the political cluster, blamed the Malay leaders for the current political situation for the Malays.

"I am placing the fault with the Malay leaders, be it those in power or those who have lost power, be it Umno or not Umno.

"They need to take responsibility for the abandonment of the Malays recently," he said, giving the example of the small percentage of Malay reserve land remaining in the country.

The five presentations came after the Congress secretariat's chief executive Zainal Kling, who opened the congress with a hardline speech emphasising the sovereignty and special position of the Malay race.

The gathering, which saw more than 5,000 people in the stadium and more outside, was attended by a slew of prominent figures both in and outside of the political world.

These include Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa and former ministers Khairy Jamaluddin, Hishammuddin Hussein and Noh Omar, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yaakob.

Also present were Bersatu’s Redzuan Yusof, Mustapa Mohamed, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Maszlee Malik and Mukhriz Mahathir, as well as PKR deputy president Azmin Ali and Amanah chief Mohamad Sabu.

Other prominent attendees at the congress included Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin and singer Siti Nurhaliza.

Siti also serenaded everyone as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad arrived at the congress and walked towards the stage, to the delight of the crowd.

During his speech, Mahathir said that the Malays had split themselves into small groups in their fight for power.

Due to this, they have had to rely on non-Malays in order to win the elections.

As such, he said, the sensitivities of the non-Malays also need to be taken into consideration. - Mkini