Umno, PAS should find common ground to empower Malays, Islam

(Bernama) – Umno and PAS must have the strength to find the common ground to achieve the bigger vision in the context of empowering the agenda of the Malays and Islam in Malaysia.

Malaysian Special Affairs Department director-general Datuk Fuad Hassan said that in principle, the two political parties had so much in common despite their political differences, as they were both fighting for the Malays and Islam.

“Actually, Umno and PAS have so much in common compared to the pact between PAS, PKR and DAP with regards to race and religion.

“As such, the two parties (Umno and PAS) should think deeply about the shared vision because at the end of the day, unity and solidarity will remain as the most important things to achieve the vision of the majority of the Malaysian people.”

He said to reporters after presenting his working paper titled “Education Transforms Malay Politics” at the International Malay Education Seminar (Sepma) in Surabaya, Indonesia, today.

Fuad said in today’s political environment, with factionalism and strife occurring among the Malays, Umno and PAS should be farsighted with regards to the survival of the Malays.

He said among the aspects that needed to be given extra focus to develop the Malays were through education.

“The philosophy of education in Malaysia is beautiful, but there are several elements that need to be reviewed. For example, curriculum and syllabus of religious education, history and language should be added regardless of the areas of study,” he said.

Meanwhile, the three-day seminar, which began today, was aimed at discussing the issue of Malay survival and transforming the Malay agenda towards achieving universal mission and vision.

The seminar organised by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) will be officially opened by Indonesian Minister of State-owned Enterprises, Dahlan Iskan, on Sunday.