By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia TodayKUALA LUMPUR: Perkasa has launched a vitriolic attack on PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her newly minted deputy Azmin Ali for allegedly turning their backs on the concept of Malay supremacy to lure Chinese and Indian votes.
The hardline Malay group's Youth chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah had labelled the opposition duo as “political prostitutes” and demanded that such individuals be banished.
He was responding to Wan Azizah's speech at the PKR national congress yesterday, which was backed by Azmin.
Calling them “traitors” to the Malay race, Arman said: “They are successful because of 'ketuanan Melayu' (Malay supremacy) but now, they have forgotten their roots.”
After achieving success, he said, these individuals had become “arrogant and crazy” and were prime examples of “Melayu mudah lupa” (Malays forgetting easily).
“They are political prostitutes who will do anything just to get Indian and Chinese support," he added during a press conference here this afternoon.
Stressing that Perkasa was neither a racist nor right-wing outfit, Arman called on the Malay rulers to banish those who went against “ketuanan Melayu”.
He also described the PKR president's speech as deriding the Malay rulers, whose sovereignty was protected under “ketuanan Melayu”.
Arman claimed that the concept of “ketuanan Melayu” had been misconstrued as the subjugation of other races.
“We want other races to respect the social contract and know the country's history,” he said, adding that Perkasa upheld the Federal Constitution and wanted to ensure that Malay rights were respected.
Not sparing Wan Azizah's husband, PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim, Arman said that the latter was the cause of Malay disunity and was not fit to be prime minister.
"If he wants to lead the country, he should resolve his personal problems first... he has yet to resolve this (the sodomy trial) but he wants to lead," he added.
Wan Azizah: It's about the goodness in a person
In an immediate reaction, Wan Azizah expressed shock over Arman's statement.
“Oh my goodness! I think Arman mistook what I have said, and he should read the text of my entire speech. (Before I delivered the speech), we (PKR leaders) sat and debated it (the content).
“You're not born of race; if you are a Muslim, the most important thing is your faith and it is the goodness in a person which is the differentiating factor regardless of whether you are a Malay, Chinese or Indian,” she told FMT.
Quoting Prophet Muhammad, she said that the prophet himself had stressed that a good person was defined by the manner he or she led their life.
Meanwhile, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi also condemned Arman over his stinging remarks.
“Calling them 'political prostitutes' is crude and harsh. I believe the PKR president did not mean to sideline Malay rights, but called on us Malays not to be racist,” he said.
Nasrudin said while it was not wrong to fight for one's race, it should however not be at the expense of other races.
“I am worried that Perkasa is only fighting for the Malays, we should not do this. We should fight for justice for all races. However, I am not against ketuanan Melayu,” he added.
'This are not Malay values'
Nasrudin's DAP counterpart Anthony Loke was not surprised by Arman's tongue-lashing, given that it had come from a Perkasa leader.
"Of course, coming from Perkasa it is not surprising. I feel it is too much for anyone to use such a word to label your political opponent, especially a woman. This is highly insensitive, derogatory and unbecoming of a Malaysian citizen," he told FMT.
"I am sure the Malay culture does not condone such an act as the Malay culture values politeness and respect. It is these so-called protectors of Malay values who are saying such things," he added.
On the same note, Loke praised Wan Azizah and other PKR leaders for raising the subject, knowing that they would come under attack from the likes of Perkasa.
“Saying that we are against 'ketuanan Melayu' does not mean we are questioning the position of the Malay rulers, the royal institution is there. This is in Pakatan Rakyat's common policy, we uphold the constitution. Pakatan has no problem with the institution of constitutional monarchy.
"The very reason we question 'ketuanan Melayu' is because we question Barisan Nasional's approach to formulating policies based on racial interests and approaches,” he told FMT.
Noh Omar: PKR gives wrong impression
In a related development, Selangor Umno deputy liaison chief Noh Omar also slammed PKR for raising the “ketuanan Melayu” issue and giving the impression that Malays wanted to lord over the rest.
Calling it a wrong impression, he said that it was done with the intention of seeking political mileage.
“'Ketuanan Melayu' does not mean that we want to become 'tuan'. It means safeguarding the rights enshrined in the constitution with regard to the Malays,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
According to him, PKR leaders themselves do not understand the concept and had failed to protect it as witnessed in several issues such as Selangor excos not using the national language in their official letterheads and allowing non-Muslims to enter mosque grounds to the point that the sultan had to interfere.
“In this context, the 'ketuanan Melayu' which we want to defend, is the sanctity of Islam as the official religion and Bahasa Melayu as the national language. This is what is meant by defending 'ketuanan Melayu' and PKR has failed to do so,” he said.
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