DAP vice-chairperson Nga Kor Ming has admitted that Umno and DAP need more communication and a period of adjustment to work together after six decades of “competition”.
He was reacting to the news where several Umno delegates had expressed their doubts about forming a unity government with DAP.
“DAP and Umno have been competing with each other for over 60 years, but the grassroots of the two parties have to work together under the unity government.
“It is unavoidable that they may feel awkward and have reservations. It's human nature.
“But when it comes to the future of the country, Umno is a major force in Malay right-wing politics, while DAP is a multiracial party that represents the Chinese community.
"We hope that through the unity government, Umno can move towards moderation. The joint forces of the two strengths (Umno and DAP) will be the starting point of a brilliant Malaysia," Nga said.
In an interview with Chinese media before the Lunar New Year, Nga added that he believed the reconciliation and cooperation between DAP and Umno are also welcomed by the people.
‘Positive changes in unity government’
He pointed out that there are positive changes after the formation of the unity government, citing that racist remarks were not heard in the recent Umno annual general assembly.
“In the recently concluded AGM, deputy president Mohamad Hasan surprisingly talked about diversity and moderation, which were not found in previous Umno AGMs.
“There were also no calls for the Chinese Malaysians to go back to China. These (positive changes) need our constant efforts to strive for them,” Nga said.
DAP and Umno used to be bitter political rivals. During the GE15 campaign period, Umno and PAS pointed fingers at DAP, insinuating that the party was anti-Malay and anti-Islam.
Pakatan Harapan also raised an argument of "a vote for BN = a vote for Zahid", targeting Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s corruption cases in court.
Mohamad also said Umno’s anti-DAP stance has failed to win over Malays votes, meanwhile, Umno non-Malay support had also suffered a drastic drop.
‘Not to whitewash Umno’
On the “Umno corrupt” label, Nga said it’s inevitable for every organisation to have a mix of good and evil, so it’s unfair to generalise the whole party.
Instead, he stressed that it was necessary to find common ground and cooperate with the good and capable people in those organisations, in order to achieve unity in diversity.
Speaking about corruption, he claimed that PAS and Bersatu - the main component parties of Perikatan Nasional - are more corrupt, extreme and incompetent.
“Under the lesser evil principle, Umno is an established ruling party with a long history, it has records of corruption, but it also has capable leaders.
“If we can discard the weeds and retain the flowers, and combine the strength of both DAP and Umno, Malaysia will be a good example of a harmonious diverse society,” Nga added.
He further stressed that he was not whitewashing Umno, but political stability is urgently needed to revitalise Malaysia’s economy before the possible global economic recession this year.
Zahid, thanks for defending DAP
Nga is of the view that the first challenge for the unity government will be the coming six state elections, while the DAP and Umno election machinery need to bury the hatchet and work seamlessly.
In this regard, he said DAP has to communicate with Umno leaders and grassroots.
“To be honest, I want to thank Umno president Zahid because he has publicly defended DAP in the media after he decided to work with the unity government.
“Zahid made it very clear that DAP was misunderstood by Umno members in the past because of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's demonisation.
“DAP has been a punching bag and an imaginary enemy for Umno, but we are not what they thought,” he added.
Nga said he was confident that after several months of cooperation in the unity government, Umno will realise that DAP is a “moderate, progressive and trustworthy” party.
“Hopefully with the cooperation of DAP and Umno, pluralistic, secular and moderate political forces could be strengthened.”
The local government development minister said he was pleasantly surprised by the harmonious atmosphere during Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's cabinet meeting, with ministers from different parties offering professional advice on controversial issues without squabbling. - Mkini
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