AMANAH vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa said that despite how the Pakatan Harapan pact does not command the support of the majority of Malay voters, he was confident the community would embrace the new administration and its new people-focused policies in time.

“We acknowledge that Umno and PAS combined still control the support of the majority of Malay voters.

“But that does not mean Malays do not accept us. We have just come into power for less than two months.

“The Malays have yet to be convinced of our policies. Through policies, we will definitely win them over,” Mujahid said at Penang Amanah’s Hari Raya open house today.

Umno won 54 parliamentary seats in the May 9 general election, although the number dropped to 51 after three Umno lawmakers quit the party over the past week.

With 51 seats, Umno is still the single party with the highest number of seats in the Dewan Rakyat, followed by PH’s PKR, which has 50.

Islamist party PAS holds 18 seats, more than PH’s Malay-Muslim parties Amanah (11), and Bersatu (13). Amanah is a splinter party of PAS, while Bersatu is a splinter party of Umno.

Mujahid said the PH government was introducing good policies like entrepreneurship development that focused on Malay entrepreneurs.

“There is also Islamic affairs; whoever the minister in charge is will have reform agendas to introduce to a more progressive, inclusive and Malaysian-Muslim society,” he told reporters.

Mujahid, who heads Penang Amanah, is tipped to be the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs. He is set to be sworn in tomorrow with the rest of the cabinet.

“I believe in one to three years, the Malays will see the good in the policies PH introduces… just like what we see in Penang,” he said, referring to the state that has been under a PH government since 2008.

“With our policies intact, we can prove that we can be better than Umno,” he said.

Mujahid also announced that two councillors from Amanah would be appointed to the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council respectively in the coming week.

Amanah assemblyman Fadzil Noor of Permatang Pasir will be made a director in the state investment agency investPenang, while Bayan Lepas representative Azrul Mahathir Aziz will likely be appointed to the board of PBA Holdings Bhd, the investment holding company dealing with Penang’s water supply.

The party’s youth leader, Mohd Saifullah Abd Nasir, will be appointed to the board of Kolej Islam Teknologi Pulau Pinang, which is placed under the Penang Islamic Council. – July 1, 2018.