KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — Malays will lose their rights and power should Pakatan Rakyat (PR) win more federal seats in the next general election, an Umno leader said today.
Datuk Ahmad Maslan, who is Umno information chief, said that the worst-case scenario in the future for Malays would be a “hung parliament” situation like in Australia, where Barisan Nasional would be unable to carry out policy agendas due to the lack of a simple majority.
“If there is a hung parliament scenario like Australia, let’s say 112 government seats to 110 opposition seats, it is the worst thing that could happen.
Speaking at a forum titled “Agenda Melayu pasca pilihan raya”, the deputy minister trained his sights on the DAP, accusing the opposition party of disrespecting the royal institution, as well as the national language.
“Say goodbye to Islam, because they (DAP) are agents of Christianisation ... in talking about the Malay agenda we cannot run away from this,” said Ahmad.
“I am perturbed as to why PAS can consort with DAP, as opposed to forging ties with Umno. Won’t it be better if PAS joins BN, added together we would have about 160 federal seats?” he said.
The Pontian MP said that Umno has always “extended its hand” to PAS, but the Islamist party has always rejected their overtures.
Stressing that the threat of “Malays losing power” was very real, Ahmad claimed that the Chinese community was slowly gaining control of the country’s politics and economy.
This, he said, was because the Chinese were currently leading in voter registration.
“Chinese youths above the age of 21 are already registered voters. What about Malays? Some are 31 and they have yet to register.
“We no longer hold power. Look at Selangor, who are the state excos? Ronnie Liu, Xavier, Elizabeth, Teresa Kok, this is the DAP agenda, Christianisation,” he said.
Ahmad said Malays needed to plan “10 steps” ahead if they want to remain dominant.
Umno is currently holding what is likely to be its last general assembly before a general election expected early next year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is said to need a marked improvement from the last polls to retain his position as only a return of Barisan Nasional’s customary two-thirds majority of Parliament can guarantee he remains in office.
BN ceded 82 federal seats and five state governments to the opposition in the landmark March 2008 election.
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