Muhyiddin: If PAS has done more for Islam, we will surrender

(The Malaysian Insider) KUALA KRAI, July 9 — Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin went for broke last night in defending his party against PAS's accusations of rejecting Islam in the Manek Urai by-election.

In the deputy prime minister's latest gambit for control over the Islam-centric electorate here, he declared: "I challenge PAS, if they can prove that they have done more than this, then we will surrender."

He told over 200 villagers here that developing Islam was more than just about "building mosques but even then we have built thousands, way more than PAS."

"Umno raised the spirit of Malay Muslims to gain independence from the British after centuries of being colonised. Did PAS ever fight for independence?" the Barisan Nasional (BN) election chief said.

He also numbered Islamic banking, Takaful or Islamic insurance and Tabung Haji, the national pilgrimage fund for Muslims, as other Islamic achievements by Umno.

The religious credentials of the rival Malay-based parties are key to the Malay-Muslim vote here who make up 99 per cent of the 12,300 voters.

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