Umno members should be open to the party’s new political dynamics, said Ahmad Maslan, who told party grassroots last night to stop having a phobia of the DAP.
Speaking at a town hall programme, the Umno supreme council member said DAP has accepted Islam as the religion of the Malaysian federation and the special position of the Malays in the country, among others.
The Pakatan Harapan component party, Ahmad added, is now similar to BN component party MCA and their former ally Gerakan.
“What is the difference between DAP, MCA, and Gerakan? They are all Chinese-based parties. DAP is a Chinese-based party, and so is MCA and Gerakan.
“What else? They eat pork, gamble, drink alcohol, as what the (non-Muslim) Chinese generally do. It’s normal. But Gerakan did not win any seat in the 15th general election, while MCA only won two seats.
“DAP, on the other hand, won 40 seats. Since 2008, the Chinese community has swung their support to favour DAP. In the 2018 general election, nearly 95 percent of Chinese voters voted for DAP while the other five percent voted for MCA.
“In this new political dynamic, how long are we going to close our minds when it comes to DAP?” Ahmad asked the audience.
The deputy finance minister was speaking as a panellist at the town hall programme organised by the Kota Raja Umno division. It was aired live on Umno’s official Facebook account.
The forum titled ‘What Is Umno’s Role in the Government’ featured Umno information chief Azalina Othman Said as a second panellist.
Ahmad said some Umno members still have a phobia of the DAP, which he blamed on former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who used to lead Umno as president.
He added that Mahathir eventually also worked with DAP when wanting to bring down the Umno federal government in the 2018 general election.
“I want to tell you that DAP made a declaration in 2012 saying they support Islam, the Malays (position), the Malay Rulers, and Bahasa (Malay language), or in short, IMRB (Islam, Melayu, Raja, Bahasa).
“And in December 2012, they signed an agreement with other parties that form the unity government that also touches on these commitments.
“So, MCA supports IMRB, Gerakan also supports IMRB, and so does DAP. So why are you still having a phobia of the DAP?” he said.
Ahmad also refuted claims by opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) that the position of Islam is under threat when the country is being led by the current federal government.
Even with DAP in Putrajaya, he said, the government today uses more Arabic words for its programmes compared to when it was led by PN, referring to the Madani and Rahmah slogans.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has also been inviting Islamic scholars to visit Malaysia besides going for Friday prayer at different mosques every week, Ahmad added.
“We never heard this done when Bersatu and PAS were leading the country.”
Return to Selangor govt administration
During the event, Ahmad and Azalina reminded Selangor Umno members of the importance for them to support the federal government.
This includes throwing their support behind other parties that are working together with Umno in the upcoming state elections.
According to Ahmad, this is the chance for Umno to return to the Selangor administration after they lost the state in 2008.
“Now, we are going into the state election. If we do not want to give our votes to our allies, to the other parties within the unity government that are contesting seats where Umno and BN are not, then what will happen at the 12 seats where we need their support?
“So, we need to think about this from the bigger context, which is for the whole of Selangor.”
Meanwhile, Azalina, who is a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), told the audience that Selangor should have a state government that is in line with the federal administration.
After Umno lost the federal government in 2018, she said, it was more difficult for Umno members to continue their service to the people.
But, despite not having much power except in several states, she said the party continued to be the people’s choice to ask for help when in need.
“It is not in Umno's DNA to turn people away when they ask for help. So we still do our best to help them.
“But, when the state government is in line with the federal government, it will be much easier for us to help the people,” she added. - Mkini
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