Dr M backs Perkasa as Najib’s Umno distances itself
(The Malaysian Insider) – The stage is set for a battle of wills in Umno after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared his support yesterday for Perkasa as a crutch for what he said was a weak Umno.
His remarks to the New Straits Times published today come even as Umno began this week to distance itself from the Malay rights group.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak has asked senior party leaders disassociate from the controversial Malay group.
Earlier this week, Umno secretary-geneeral Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor declared the party would not back Datuk Ibrahim Ali in the next general election as the Perkasa chief was eroding Barisan Nasional’s (BN) support among the non-Malays.
He also dismissed allegations that Umno had strong ties with the Malay rights group.
Ibrahim, who was sacked from Umno in 2004, won the Pasir Mas seat in Election 2008 under a PAS ticket.
In 2005, he contested as an independent in the Pengkalan Pasir by-election but obtained only 415 votes and lost his deposit. Pengkalan Pasir is a state constituency situated in the Pasir Mas town centre.
Ibrahim abandoned his partnership with PAS soon after Election 2008 and founded Perkasa to defend what he called the constitutional position of the Malays.
The group which has successfully attracted more than 50,000 members nationwide has been pressuring the Najib administration to state its support for a pro-Bumiputera economic policy, despite the government’s attempt to liberalise the country’s economy.
Dr Mahathir is Perkasa’s patron, which is seen as representing the views of Umno’s conservative faction who are against Najib’s proposed economic reforms which they claim will erode Malay control of the economy.
“Perkasa members are Umno supporters. It would not help Umno’s cause to turn them away,” Dr Mahathir told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He told the Umno-controlled newspaper that the party could not afford to alienate itself from Malay groups such as Perkasa, which were formed because they believed Umno was not doing enough to protect Malay interests.
While Najib is aware of the risks, an early election remains an option as his administration faces up to an uncertain economic climate.
His push to distance Umno from Perkasa is the clearest sign yet that snap polls could happen soon.
He is understood to be weighing the option of calling polls in the next six months.
But Dr Mahathir and Perkasa are now complicating his strategy.
Najib will be aware of his predecessor Tun Abdullah Badawi’s fate after Dr Mahathir openly opposed him and sparked a revolt which partly led to BN’s poor performance in Election 2008.
After losing five states and its traditional two-thirds majority in Parliament, Abdullah was ousted as PM.
