FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Malay Proclamation campaign is nothing new as the agenda was brought up even before, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said.

“I’ve already done that in 2018 where I gathered some 50,000 Malays in Pasir Salak,” the former Pasir Salak lawmaker told reporters today.

“Even (PAS president) Abdul Hadi Awang came over to my house and took the stage and gave a speech to the crowd.”

Tajuddin, who was suspended from Umno for six years, made a surprise appearance at the 2023 Umno General Assembly today.

He said Malays were united when Umno and PAS were together, under the “failed to materialise” Muafakat Nasional.

However, Tajuddin claimed, leaders of both parties did not preserve the togetherness.

Dr Mahathir has said he came up with the Malay Proclamation, in which poverty among the Malays is listed as a key problem.

He wanted to “remind the Malay people of the problems they are facing”.

He also said the proclamation is aimed at uniting the Malays across the political divide, warning that the community would “lose everything” if those championing Malay interests were not united.

Dr Mahathir has purported his “Malay Proclamation” to be an initiative to unite the Malay community by addressing 12 key problems they face and bridging the group’s political differences, despite his leading role in at least four Malay political parties so far.

Last month, Hadi and Bersatu leaders such as deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu and information chief Razali Idris signed on to Dr Mahathir’s proclamation.

Dr Mahathir developed his proclamation after a humiliating defeat in last year’s general election, when he and all other Pejuang candidates lost their deposits due to failure to receive the minimum number of votes.

Last week, Dr Mahathir’s lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said the two-time prime minister was questioned by police in relation to the Malay Proclamation campaign, which is suspected of being an activity detrimental to Malaysian democracy. – June 9, 2023.