Khairy, Saifuddin stay mum on Ahmad Maslan’s Malay power remarks
By Lisa J. Ariffin and Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
Umno youth chief Khairy shook his head when asked to respond to Ahmad's statement today, but said nothing. — file pic
The two Umno politicians, who have been vocal on political reforms, appeared surprisingly dumbfounded when asked to comment on remarks made by Datuk Ahmad Maslan earlier today that suggested a worst-case scenario for Malays if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) made more gains in the next general election.
The Umno information chief claimed that Malays would lose everything to the Chinese should the country experience a "hung parliament" scenario like Australia.
Both deputy minister Saifuddin and Umno youth chief Khairy shook their heads in response to Ahmad's statement, but said nothing.
After a few seconds of silence, Saifuddin softly mumbled "tak apalah" (Never mind) before moving on to another topic.
Datuk Ahmad Maslan claimed today that the threat of "Malays losing power" was very real. — file pic
"Say goodbye to Islam, because they (DAP) are agents of Christianisation ... in talking about the Malay agenda we cannot run away from this," said Ahmad.
Stressing that the threat of "Malays losing power" was very real, Ahmad claimed that the Chinese community was slowly gaining control of the country's politics and economy.
This, he said, was because the Chinese were currently leading in voter registration.
Umno is currently holding what is likely to be its last general assembly before a general election expected early next year.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is said to need a marked improvement from the last polls to retain his position as only a return of Barisan Nasional's customary two-thirds majority of Parliament can guarantee he remains in office.
BN ceded 82 federal seats and five state governments to the opposition in the landmark March 2008 election.
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