NEWLY formed Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) can offer Malays nothing new as the coalition is led by people who have done nothing much for the country, Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said.

The Amanah vice-president said the group has nothing substantive to offer and is merely spouting the same old Malay narrative.

Mujahid told The Malaysian Insight GTA will not go far if it includes groups such as Berjasa, which is known for its hardcore Malay rights dogma.

The son of former PAS president Yusof Rawa also questioned Putra’s Ibrahim Ali’s ability to unite the Malays.

“Dr Mahathir for 22 years while in Umno tried to use the Malay supremacy narrative and the Malays did not change. In fact, he left the Malay party twice because he felt Umno was not the same as it used to be.

“Now he has formed another group to try to convince the Malays that this group is capable of saving them. What has Ibrahim Ali done after so many years in politics? We know who he is.

“Berjasa, what have they done other than impose hardcore right-wing Malay ideology? But I cannot stop anyone from participating in a democratic process. The people can choose for themselves and I hope they make the right choice,” he said.

GTA is made up of Dr Mahathir’s Pejuang, Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional, Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra).

Last week, Pejuang chairman Dr Mahathir announced the formation of GTA, a coalition aimed at strengthening the Malays, especially in the economic field.

The Langkawi MP said the movement was not racist but was banded together for the sake of ousting the “deviant Malay party that is Umno”.

He said the coalition will stand in all 120 constituencies with a Malay majority in the general election.

Mujahid, however, admitted that issues plaguing the Malays had been unresolved since the country achieved independence.

He said Amanah is working to lift the socio-economic status of the Malays with a new narrative that is not based on patronage.

“We cannot avoid talking about the Malays; it is something significant, the future of the Malays.

“So it is not surprising to me that Dr Mahathir is again trying to create a new narrative for the Malays.

“Amanah does not want to offer the ‘Hidup Melayu’ narrative; we want to give the Malays new values, ideas that they can grasp so that they are no longer be stuck in the mindset that Malays are threatened by others.

“Our approach is very much different from that of Umno or any other Malay parties. We will add value to it (and offer) not just a Malay leadership, but a clean and transparent leadership, free of corruption and abuse of power,” he said.

Amanah, set up by progressive leaders from PAS after the Islamist party severed ties with Pakatan Rakyat, was formed in 2015, with Mohamad Sabu as president.

DAP, PKR, Bersatu and Amanah went on to form Pakatan Harapan.

In 2020, Bersatu, led by Muhyiddin Yassin, left PH to form an alliance with Umno and PAS, resulting in Perikatan Nasional.

PN, however, did not last long in Putrajaya after Umno backstabbed Muhyiddin by withdrawing the support for the prime minister. – August 13, 2022.