Umno must dominate govt, not just complement, says Akmal
At Umno Youth’s general assembly, Dr Akmal Saleh also issues a fiery warning to ‘friends’ against touching on race, religion and royalty.
(FMT) – Umno Youth has called for the party to work towards regaining its dominance in the federal government, saying it cannot be content with merely complementing other parties in Putrajaya.
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh said the party must set its sights on increasing its existing 26 MPs to up to two-thirds of the seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
“We do not want Umno to be comfortable with the current situation of being a party that complements others in the unity government.
Umno needs to return to being the dominant party in the nation’s political landscape, he said at the Umno Youth general assembly at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.
Akmal also issued a fiery warning to allies in the unity government against touching on issues involving race, religion, and royalty, otherwise known as the 3Rs.
He maintained that the youth wing had no qualms befriending anyone, but said issues related to the 3Rs were non-negotiable.
We can be friends with anyone, but if you touch the 3Rs, we will fight to the end, he said.
The Melaka executive councillor said that over the past year, Umno Youth has shown unwavering commitment to defending the rights of the Malays, having been outspoken on issues such as KK Mart’s sale of socks bearing the word Allah.
He had spearheaded a campaign to boycott KK Mart outlets over the incident.
He had also locked horns with DAP leaders over the socks issue and the role of brewery firms in raising funds for Chinese vernacular schools.
“We have faced many issues, such as the KK Mart socks controversy, (alcohol) companies in schools, the (sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s shares) and others.
I could go on, but these were major issues that were close to the hearts of Malay-Muslims which Umno Youth fought for. During that time, we saw other youth groups stay silent, but only Umno Youth spoke out, he said.
Akmal also said neither he nor Umno Youth were agents of Perikatan Nasional, despite being outspoken against the government at times.
He said Umno Youth has already made it clear it would keep to the core values of the party’s struggle, despite being part of the federal administration.
We will defend Malay rights, Islam, and the monarchy. We have proven this many times by clashing with our ‘neighbours’, to the point where people are accusing me of being an agent of PN, he said.
