Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali giving his speech at the fourth Perkasa general assembly
in Kuala Lumpur today. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, December 22, 2013.
Perkasa today warned Umno that the Malay rights group will replace the dominant political party in the ruling Barisan Nasional if it fails to uphold the Bumiputera agenda.
Its president, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, said Umno was now showing signs of weaknesses and becoming “toothless” in its struggle to protect Malay interests.
“If Umno appears exhausted, tired and toothless, come on then, Perkasa can take your place,” Ibrahim said at its fourth annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur.
Ibrahim, a former Umno member and Pasir Mas MP, said Perkasa was prepared to adopt an adversarial role in the 14th general election should the Malay lynchpin of BN fail to deliver on the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment Agenda.
Without Perkasa's help and support, Barisan Nasional would also not have emerged victorious in the 13th general election, Ibrahim added.
"This is the truth, accept the facts. If not for Perkasa, Barisan Nasional would not have succeeded in regaining Perak."
Ibrahim said if Umno was weak and dispirited and could not continue fighting for Bumiputeras, it would be a ready replacement.
"Perkasa can take over the struggle. We can continue the fight for the rights of the Malays and Bumiputera," he said to cheers from the 1,000-strong audience.
"Perkasa boasts of more than 500,000 members nationwide, we have state and district divisions. Which other non-governmental organisation can boast such support?"
Ibrahim said Perkasa supported Umno in the 13th general election because the opposition was an unacceptable alternative.
"We do not completely trust Pakatan Rakyat. Barisan Nasional, on the other hand, can give us guarantees about power sharing," Ibrahim said.
"There are no other NGOs who will travel to the rural areas to give talks and speeches, like Perkasa."
Ibrahim said he stood as an independent in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, in the 13th general election because no party was willing to sponsor him.
"Umno was afraid that voters would be turned off by Perkasa, hence they refused to support me in Pasir Mas.
"Despite sacrificing me, Barisan Nasional failed to win Pasir Mas," he added.
He told the delegates that this time, Perkasa would introduce a key performance indicator for the prime minister, his deputy and Cabinet members.
"Putrajaya has KPI targets for all ministries and government departments to achieve, but we are introducing KPIs for the top leadership.
"There are so many issues worrying the people now with the price of fuel, sugar, electricity and toll rates going up.
"Therefore, one of the KPIs for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be the cost of living."
Ibrahim said Perkasa was determined to ensure that Bumiputera equity in Malaysia reached 30% by the time Malaysia achieved developed nation status in 2020.
He also ticked off several online news portals for portraying a negative image of Perkasa, saying his statements had been taken out of context.
"We have not done anything wrong. We do not take to the streets like Bersih. We hold roundtable dialogues, conventions and congresses," he said.
"There are other non-governmental organisations which issue far more inflammatory comments compared with Perkasa, but nobody tells them off."
Instead, he said, Perkasa has become a punching bag.
He also defended Perkasa's members, saying it was normal for them to react when provoked.
"If Perkasa's actions are detrimental to national security, show me the proof. I say one thing, the online news portals say another thing."
Shrugging it off, Ibrahim said his popularity increased every time such reports were published. – December 22, 2013.
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