Rais to ‘unite’ PAS, PKR, Umno leaders

(Bernama) – Social Affairs and Cultural adviser to the government Dr Rais Yatim plans to bring together leaders of three political parties soon in efforts to strengthen unity among the Malays and Muslims.

He said for a start, a meeting organised with the cooperation of several Malay intellectuals and non-governmental organisations, would be held in three places, namely Kelantan, Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur.

The three parties involved are Umno, PKR and PAS.

“This effort is underway and to make it happen, it must be done in the goodwill spirit,” he told reporters after launching a seminar on ‘Unity of the Ummah in Malaysian Civilization” at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), here yesterday.

Rais said he saw the significance of Malay interests in the context of unity and not the name of their party, therefore, efforts to unite them were necessary to discuss issues on religion, race, language and the region.

“This is not about Umno politics, PAS politics or PKR politics but the Malay Muslim struggle.”

He said this when asked by a panel member on how to strengthen unity among the Malays from various political parties in the country.

Meanwhile, on the seminar, he said Malays needed to push aside their ego in the interest of their own race and Muslims.

“Malay Bumiputeras need to protect the future of the Malays…besides avoiding racial politics, which will only weaken the community itself,” he said.

The two-day seminar, organised by UPSI’s Institute of Malay Civilization,  assembled political figures, academicians and non-governmental organisation leaders. Three working papers were presented to discuss the direction of Malay unity.