Nazri an opportunist, claim Malay groups
Perkasa and Gertak leaders today laughed off Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’s claim that they needed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to survive, accusing the Umno minister of being an apple-polisher who would do anything to rise in the ranks.
Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said Nazri’s statement was unsurprising and that he was not “bothered at all” with the latter’s words.
“Nazri speaks as an individual but Perkasa is an organisation with thousands of members now. So I hope he feels great with his statement and I am not bothered at all.
“I feel great too,” he told The Malaysian Insider via SMS this afternoon.
The Pasir MAS MP said that Nazri, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had an axe to grind with Dr Mahathir and merely wanted to please all those who opposed Perkasa’s struggles.
“He might have problems with Tun since Tun is a great leader and world renowned. So he must feel proud and great when he can attack Tun,” said Ibrahim.
Perkasa Youth chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah agreed with his leader, saying that if Nazri’s “boss”, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, could accept Perkasa’s struggles, he should follow suit.
He said Najib had shown support when he accepted five of the 32 proposals made by Perkasa to be included in the 10th Malaysia Plan.
“If his boss can accept us, why can’t he?” said Arman Azha.
He added that the five proposals included strengthening the economic status of the Bumiputeras and protecting the welfare of the Bumiputeras in education.
“Furthermore, Nazri claimed that Perkasa is strong because of Mahathir but this is wrong because even before Mahathir supported us, we were already around.
“He is just supporting us because he saw that we are a non-governmental organisation that has been very consistent in fighting for the rights of the Bumiputeras,” he said.
Arman Azha added that Perkasa would always be relevant with or without Dr Mahathir so long as it continued to champion the rights of the Bumiputeras.
“As long as we are consistent, if we keep protecting the rights of the Bumiputera which are enshrined in the Constitution, we will be relevant.
“Also, it is not true that we are against Najib — we have always supported him and we are merely bringing to him the voice of the grassroots. Sometimes as a leader, you are not aware of the people’s voices.
“Nazri is just trying to stand out,” he said.
Gertak, or Gerakan Kebangkitan Rakyat (People’s Awareness Movement), chief Razali Idris accused Nazri of being an opportunist who would side with whomever was in power.
“He is a three-era man. He was there during Tun’s time. He was there during Pak Lah (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi). He is here now during Najib.
“He just wants to be their strongest soldier, their general, so he will defend them to the end. His style is to try and make sure that he stands out so that people will say ‘wow, he is a great leader’,” said Razali.
