The Malaysian Insight

THE Umno-PAS pact to be inked tomorrow is not just political move but will help Malays and Muslims increase their economic standing, said a Muslim pressure group today.

Gerakan Pembela Ummah chairman Aminuddin Yahaya said the unity pact between the two Malay parties will help the community to be on a par with the Chinese and Indians in the country.

He said Malays, especially youth, will lose faith in politics if the union between the two parties fails to fulfil its promises to uphold the community’s position in the country.

He also said leaders of both the parties needs to be wary of disappointing youth, as they will be disillusioned if the promises of this pact are not delivered. 

“Malays, especially the youth, are excited by this unity by both parties. The important part now is the content of the charter and its agenda.

“If it does not meet their expectations, they may be disillusioned with politics altogether,” he said.  

Aminuddin was speaking as a panellist on the “Wacana Intelektual” on the sidelines of the Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah”(Ummah Unity Gathering) at PWTC.

He also slammed the Pakatan Harapan government for not being “Malay-centric”. 

“I see that today’s government isn’t a Malay-centric government,” he said.

He also said that the Malays have lost their identity because they are influenced by western values. 

“We have lost our identity. Today, Western values and ideals control our youth. Some of them even say that they are okay with a non-Malay being the prime minister.” 

Aminuddin said that if they don’t protect their identity, the future of the Malay race will be destroyed.  

“If we, especially the government, don’t stand up for our identity, we will be left behind compared to other races,” he said.

“When we say that we have to defend Malay rights, we are called racist… this is a wrong perception, Islam does not discriminate, but we have to be strong in our convictions to defend our identity,” he said.

The charter between Umno and PAS is the result of months of discussions between the two former rivals with the ultimate aim of dethroning the multicultural Pakatan Harapan in Putrajaya.   

Both parties have pledged to send 2,000 delegates each at the signing of the charter, which would take place at Umno’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. 

Umno, MCA and MIC are the founding members of BN. They are also the remaining members of the coalition, which at its peak consisted of 14 political parties. – September 13, 2019.