BERSATU and PKR defectors have no right to lecture Umno about Malay-Muslim unity when their own survival is under threat, said Mohamad Hasan at the start of the Umno annual general assembly today. 

“To the splinter party that’s still new, please don’t lecture us about Malay-Muslim unity when you have no record of uniting Malays or Malaysians,” he said, referring to Bersatu.

“Don’t raise this subject when you only know how to lure and scoop up the ones who are willing to leave their parties,” said the Umno deputy president at the launch of the Umno Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri AGMs at the Putra World Trade Centre.

The former Negri Sembilan menteri besar said Bersatu and PKR defectors are not genuinely concerned about Malay unity.

“They are only talking about Malay-Muslim unity because their political survival is at stake.

“Most disgusting are those who left PKR and who now shamelessly talk about Malay unity when they had never once mentioned it in the past.”

Mohamad did not name names in his speech, but his pointed reference to “PKR defectors” would include former party deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali who joined Bersatu after successfully conspiring with its members to oust the Pakatan Harapan government. 

Azmin, who is now Perikatan Nasional information chief, recently suggested that Umno allow Bersatu to contest the 15 parliamentary seats that Umno lost when its MPs defected to Bersatu. He urged Umno leaders to do so for the sake of Malay-Muslim unity. 

The PN government was formed on the basis of a need for stronger Malay-Muslim unity to take back power from PH.

Mohamad, also known as Mat Hasan, said that some parties had spoken about Malay-Muslim unity as though it was in danger of erosion.

“Malay unity is not under threat although there may be small issues here and there. In fact, it has become stronger since PAS and Umno got together,” said the Rembau Umno division chief.

He said the matter of Malay-Muslim unity cannot be seen solely from a political perspective as the two biggest Malay parties, Umno and PAS, have only four million members.

“There are millions of Malays out there who are not in the two parties.

“Hence, we cannot view Malay unity from only a political perspective whereby all Malay parties must be in the same coalition. It must be beyond party and ideological differences.”

Mohamad said Umno has a history of not only uniting the Malays but also the other races that goes all the way back to the fight for independence. 

“And after the racial riots of May 13, 1969, Umno again united all the races.”

Umno, said Mohamad, brought the people together again after the party was declared illegal in 1988, sacking deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1997 and taking Semangat 46 back into its fold afterwards.

“And after losing in 2018, Umno extended a hand to PAS to form Muafakat Nasional.”

There is hence no need for anyone to question Umno on the matter of unity, he said, because the party’s record speaks for itself. – March 27, 2021.