Umno man questions Dr M’s sincerity in push to unite Malays

 

Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi said Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era has ended and others should be allowed to take over the responsibility of uniting the Malays. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: An Umno Supreme Council leader has questioned Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s sincerity in calling for Malays to unite, suggesting the former prime minister did so as he was eyeing a comeback.

Puad Zarkashi said he was also confident that if Mahathir came back to power, he would not care if the community was divided.

He cited the time Mahathir attended the Malay Dignity Congress in 2019, yet nothing came out of it.

“It was a ploy to remain in power and he was out to finish Umno off,” he told FMT.

Mahathir was then the chairman of Bersatu, an Umno-splinter party.

Puad was commenting on Mahathir’s claim at a forum held earlier today that Malays would be extinct in 10 years time if the community did not unite.

At an event in Putrajaya, Mahathir said Malays would be “conquered” without a fight as no one cared for their fate.

Puad said, however, that Malay unity was vital to ensure the race would not go extinct in a decade’s time.

“But Mahathir’s era has ended. Let others from another party take over (this responsibility of uniting the Malays),” he said.

He also took a swipe at Mahathir for claiming at the forum that the Malays have lost four states up north as well as Singapore and the Riau Islands.

Puad said Mahathir himself lost Batu Puteh which Singapore had laid claim to after his government withdrew both the application to review the decision concerning the sovereignty of Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks and South Ledge, as well as the request for an interpretation of the decision.

“Is that not losing without putting up a fight?” he said.

In 2008, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided that Batu Puteh belonged to Singapore, Middle Rocks to Malaysia, and South Ledge to the state in the territorial waters in which it is located.

In June 2017, Malaysia applied to the ICJ requesting an interpretation of the judgment. A year later, Mahathir withdrew the application to overturn the ICJ’s ruling which awarded legal jurisdiction of Batu Puteh to Singapore. - FMT