I’m a victim of popularity, says Ibrahim
By Stephanie Sta Maria, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: Since creating Perkasa one year ago, Ibrahim Ali has been making headlines with his controversial quips that have now branded him as an “ultra-Malay” and an “extremist”.
But the Perkasa president isn’t losing any sleep over his fast spreading notoriety. He is instead amused at how easily he is able to raise hackles by simply being a “misunderstood man”.
According to him, he has been pushed into an unofficial leadership seat because his statements are being given more weight than they deserve.
“Look at how people reacted when I said the government should delay allocations to the Chinese community in Hulu Selangor,” he said. “I am just the Perkasa president. Najib Tun Razak is the prime minister. The choice to delay or not was in his hands yet people reacted like it was in mine.”
“Yes, some of my statements are controversial but people can choose to ignore me because in truth, I am no one. I am just a local boy who doesn’t even belong to a political party. Why are they paying so much attention to me?”
“I just speak my mind and suddenly everyone is talking about me. People hate me and accuse me of this and that which has made me even more misunderstood. I am actually a victim of popularity!”
The Perkasa president explained that the core misunderstanding is over Perkasa’s mission which he clarified is to fight for Malay rights as stated in the constitution. However, he noted that this has been misinterpreted as a fight against other races and communities.
“Perkasa’s fight is on policy matters,” he stated. “We are defending Malay rights within the constitution because we know that the Malays are still lagging behind. They still need affirmative action to get ahead. To deprive the Malays of their constitutional rights is a crime.”
“Look, I share the same opinion as everyone else that if not for corruption and the wastage of billions of ringgit, the government would be rich enough to help every single Malaysian. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. But I am not against the government helping other communities. Just make sure the Malay rights are fulfilled first.”
