‘Wounded Umno wants to keep Malays in economic bondage’
By Fazy Sahir and B Nantha Kumar, Free Malaysia Today
KOTA BHARU: Pakatan Rakyat’s success in the 12th general election in 2008 brought forth a new dimension with the introduction of a multiracial party system which was attractive to the empowered Malaysian, said PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail today.
However with this new political landscape, she said, came Umno-Barisan Nasional’s revenge at its unprecedented loss.
“The multiracial party which Pakatan had reflected attracted support from the rakyat to the point that they sidelined Umno which had ruled for 50 years .
‘In fact Umno is increasingly losing its powers within its core Malay group, “ she said in her presidential address at the sixth PKR national congress here today.
Still seething from the humiliating defeat Umno, two years on, had resorted to using lies and every possible strategy to discredit PKR and Pakatan, she said.
‘Umno has lost its source. It is now divorced from the true aspirations of the Malays because Umno is busy trying to secure its wealth through and as a result of corrupt practices.
‘It is now fear, that has them focussed on attacking PKR in a bid to kill our credibility among the Malay voters. We have been accused of being anti-Malay,” she said adding that Umno was sending out a dangerous message with its racial polarisation policies and its seditious attempts to fan racial and religious intolerance.
She described the the government’s 1Malaysia concept as hypocrisy “because there exist contradictions and conflicts between their sweet promises and their greed.”
Azizah also expressed her concerns over the main stream media’s propaganda which fanned racial discord.
As such, she said, it was important for PKR to explain its policies to the people, especially the Malays to counter Umno’s claims that PKR had compromised Malay rights and priviledges.
