(Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malays and non-Malays can still depend on Umno as the party that was the backbone of the government and country.
Muhyiddin, who is also Umno deputy president, said allegations that he and Umno were becoming racists had no basis whatsoever.
He said he might be a bit prejudiced because he was one of Umno leaders but opposition leaders were also struggling with their own political disputes and could not defend their own policies.
"Can the Malays depend on PKR, can they expect something from Anwar Ibrahim? Can they defend the principles in the Constitution, Malay rights, Malay rulers, Malay language, Malay economy?
"I say no because it was proven on many occasions that they could not even meet the demands of the Malays, let alone to meet the demands of other races," he told a special news conference in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly 2011, here Friday.
He said PAS, on the other hand, was in disarray and strayed from its basic struggle.
"They can't even resolve the dirty water issue in Kelantan. They compromise their own principles to team up with the DAP. Can the Malays count on DAP?, he asked cynically.
He said Umno did not address only the interests of the Malays but took into account the Malay agenda that still needed a long time to be resolved.
"So when we talk about Malay interest it does not mean we are racist because the largest group in the Malaysian society whether you like it or not is still Malays, Bumiputeras and Muslims," he said.
Muhyiddin also admitted that Umno had its own weaknesses but its proven track record could still be used in making comparison with other parties.
"To put the hopes of the Malays on parties other than Umno is useless. So, Umno members should realise that the Malays still need a party, but there are some weaknesses that must be improved," he said.
On allegations that the 1Malaysia concept had restricted Malay rights, the deputy prime minister said it was actually in line with current demands.
"So for me, the Malays should not feel neglected. That may be the perception as we want to address the post-2008 political tsunami. We must take into account any changes in mindset of not only the Malays but also Malaysian society.
"Umno has to make adjustments so that we are not seen as backward or not in line with current developments. But the basic struggle to defend the Malays has never been relegated to the second place," said Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister.
Meanwhile, Muhyiddin also admitted that Umno Youth and Puteri Umno had yet to capture the full attention of the younger generation.
Hence, he said the two wings of Umno should give extra focus to the efforts to improve the roles played by the younger generation in the party.
"I can't deny that they have carried out many programmes and activities but the question is whether those programmes and activities have captured the attention and won the hearts of the young people," he said.
Muhyiddin said he also hoped that the younger generation in Umno would take advantage of this year's assembly to raise issues concerning the aspirations of the new generation or "Generation Y' as they made up 40 per cent of the registered voters in the country.
"So, they have to debate on the interests and the aspirations of this new generation, especially in terms of transparency, accountability, and whether what is being done will benefit them. All these aspects must be manifested in their debates at the assembly," he said.
Muhyiddin said he believed that Umno had groomed a new breed of leaders who are ready to take over the party leadership, but all doors must be kept open for professional groups to join the party.
However, he said the public was now looking for leadership factors and credibility of a person, regardles of his party.
"The public want to see who represents them. So, the candidate must not only be winnable, but must also be acceptable, credible, outstanding and brilliant. These are the quality that the Malays are looking for and we can't simply ignore it," he said.
The Umno General Assembly 2001 will begin on Tuesday until Dec 3.
written by jay, November 28, 2011 09:47:23
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written by Whatif, November 27, 2011 14:11:38
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written by JJFoo, November 27, 2011 13:22:09
of lying and are now compulsive liars.
UMNO, MCA and MIC are all racist parties that can only thrive under
a racist environment. Without racism UMNO, MCA and MIC will
cease to exist immediately.
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written by OrangKaya, November 27, 2011 03:40:54
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written by Hakim Joe, November 27, 2011 02:41:09
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written by Ocassey, November 26, 2011 20:47:33
###############@@@@@@@@@@@#################@@@@@@@@@@
If the above are not racism puked out by a Super Racist , what else are ?
BUT MooMooDin is actually suppressing all the mass Malay descendents from ever progressing forward BECAUSE all the V V I Ps send all their own children overseas and returning to continue to "LEAD" the rural masses ! Tickling , isn't it ? Ironic , isn't it ?
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written by Angela Ooi, November 26, 2011 17:39:50
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written by alacarte, November 26, 2011 16:23:11
Talk is cheap anyway.
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written by Hanuman, November 26, 2011 15:38:19
Finally, the Cow has some cowsense to realised that he can't find any leadership nor credibility in dUmno. These factors are available anywhere except UMNO, MCA or MIC.
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written by JEFFLIM118, November 26, 2011 12:58:49
Umno is the devilish backbone of BN.
Only fools & morons will still believe in umno.
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written by bambooman, November 26, 2011 10:44:24
Election coming mah ! ! !
UMNO has to speak politically correct statement leh ! ! !
Only stupid people will agree with UMNO lah ! ! !
Stupid people like the reporters and editors from Utusan, The Star and Bernama ! ! ! !
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written by flyer168, November 26, 2011 10:25:22
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written by Motherchell, November 26, 2011 10:24:00
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written by cpchen, November 26, 2011 09:57:46
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written by vhari, November 26, 2011 09:32:52
Why it never voice the problems of chinese,indians in the UMNO assembly?
Never voice the water rights and royalty rights for malays in kelantan.
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written by IbnAbdHalim, November 26, 2011 09:32:28
Oh! Yeah. Hoping that we forget the keris yielding episodes? Who wanted to bathe with Chinese blood? What about the balik Cina and India pendatang episodes? Want more?
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written by Alice, November 26, 2011 09:15:16
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written by doitanyway, November 26, 2011 09:01:02
Also please see this report :-http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/11/21/world-bank-msian-varsities-a-poor-show/
How are we to compete under your present leadership.???
Why do we have to pay out RM 2.40 to exchange for ONE Singapore dollar?? We have all the natural resources, oil, timber, rubber, oil palm, used to have tin too, even some gold and lots of unemployed Graduates and what have Singapore got? They have no natural resources, they have all the brains and recruited more brainy people from Malaysia Bolehland ( bright students whom our own Government do not know how to appreciate), less corruption and so on.
Go look at the calibre and education standard of the Singapore Ministers compared to ours.
Go look at the recent AG report. UMNO and Govt doing anything worthwhile to it????
The list goes on !
Rakyat is fed up. Give us ABU. Where is ABU????
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written by usurper, November 26, 2011 08:39:20
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written by Beezee_Beezee, November 26, 2011 08:24:30
Looking a you talking on the TV3 accidentally make us the whole home becoming sick and warmitted the food that we chew. Really unfit minister.
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written by hellosunshine, November 26, 2011 08:20:00
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written by ataraxia, November 26, 2011 08:15:04
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written by NottyMaus, November 26, 2011 08:14:46
Mad mad buffalo !
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written by hellosunshine, November 26, 2011 08:11:57
Hey cowdung head, are you so stupid you think we are as stupid as you? You said you are not a racist but the next statement above says it all. As a representative of the people (and I mean all races) who voted you in (they must be out of their cotton picking minds), you serve ALL races and not the Malays only. Get it, dungu?
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written by Stupid me, November 26, 2011 08:09:16
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written by alpha1, November 26, 2011 07:12:48
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written by malchindian, November 26, 2011 07:11:28
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Since I am not the Pope so umno has to be a racist party.
Sudah laa Mujaheedin yasin, your are THE racist bustard around umno, please dont embarrass your bangsa,agama dan negara any further, please!