Najib's disappointment shows his 'true colours'
Tarani Palani and Rahmah GhazaliPublished: Jun 26, 2009 3:31 AM | Updated: Jun 26, 2009 9:44 AM
PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub says that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has displayed "his true colours" by making statements that he was disappointed that the proposed unity talks between Umno and PAS had been rejected by the Islamist party.
PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub says that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has displayed "his true colours" by making statements that he was disappointed that the proposed unity talks between Umno and PAS had been rejected by the Islamist party.
The Kuban Kerian MP, who was speaking to Malaysiakini in Parliament yesterday, described Najib's statements was reflective of "the real Umno" which he described as being a racist party.
"This is the real Umno...they are too racist, and Najib is disappointed that PAS has rejected the unity government talks," Salahuddin told Malaysiakini in Parliament yesterday.
Najib had said on Wednesday that many people, especially those from the Malay NGOs, were disappointed that the unity talks between Umno and PAS had failed to materialize.
Salahuddin (left) described Kelantan Umno Youth's police report against PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, yesterday, for allegedly inciting hatred as "inappropriate and vengeful acts" in retaliation for shooting down the unity talks"
"The (Kelantan) Umno Youth are the racist ones...they are using this kind of sentiment to create factions within Pakatan whereas Nik Aziz has successfully united all the races under Pakatan," he said.
Yesterday, the police report lodged by Umno Kelantan Youth chief Anuar Safian accused Nik Aziz for going "beyond the scope of a ceramah" when he likened Umno to Ayah Pin and the Sky Kingdom and branded it as a communist and a socialist party that was anti-Islam.
Unity gov't "impossible"
In another development, some Muslim NGO's have agreed that is its just "impossible" for parties in Malaysia to unite under one roof unlike neighbouring countries like Indonesia, where people from different political persuasions can work together.
According to the Muslim Students National Association (PKPIM), the unity government could not materialise as Malaysia does not practice "harmonious democracy" like Indonesia where politicians do not have any problems in working together.
PKPIM president Hilmi Ramli (right), who was speaking to Malaysiakini said that "Malaysia should have emulated Indonesia's maturity where political parties have a loose alliance among themselves.
"But in Malaysia, Umno and PAS would have a problem in forging closer ties as Umno part of the BN and PAS is tied to Pakatan," he said.
Although Najib had yesterday said that the unity talks should go on as it was a "religious duty", Hilmi said that this could lead to disagreements among the other races in the country.
"They might accept Islam as the official religion, but would they acknowledge and accept other Malay rights that are already enshrined in the federal constitution?I think a unity government is just impossible here," said Hilmi.
Unity talks after setback
Meanwhile, Jemaah Islam Malaysia (JIM) president Zaid Kamaruddin argued that there is "no real reason" for the unity government talks to take place in the first place as the idea only came up after the ruling coalition suffered a severe setback in the general election last year.
"The election results should not be the reason for the unity talks...we can't just talk about having unity just because we lost in the general election," he said.
For the Malaysian United Muslim Students Association (Gamis), Umno should instead be more "honest" in offering an olive branch to PAS.
"If they are honest about having a unity government, they should have done it a long time ago when they were powerful. Why do they want to offer it now, when they are weaker?" asked its president Mohd Dzul Khairi Mohd Noor.
The Kuban Kerian MP, who was speaking to Malaysiakini in Parliament yesterday, described Najib's statements was reflective of "the real Umno" which he described as being a racist party.
"This is the real Umno...they are too racist, and Najib is disappointed that PAS has rejected the unity government talks," Salahuddin told Malaysiakini in Parliament yesterday.
Najib had said on Wednesday that many people, especially those from the Malay NGOs, were disappointed that the unity talks between Umno and PAS had failed to materialize.
Salahuddin (left) described Kelantan Umno Youth's police report against PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, yesterday, for allegedly inciting hatred as "inappropriate and vengeful acts" in retaliation for shooting down the unity talks""The (Kelantan) Umno Youth are the racist ones...they are using this kind of sentiment to create factions within Pakatan whereas Nik Aziz has successfully united all the races under Pakatan," he said.
Yesterday, the police report lodged by Umno Kelantan Youth chief Anuar Safian accused Nik Aziz for going "beyond the scope of a ceramah" when he likened Umno to Ayah Pin and the Sky Kingdom and branded it as a communist and a socialist party that was anti-Islam.
Unity gov't "impossible"
In another development, some Muslim NGO's have agreed that is its just "impossible" for parties in Malaysia to unite under one roof unlike neighbouring countries like Indonesia, where people from different political persuasions can work together.
According to the Muslim Students National Association (PKPIM), the unity government could not materialise as Malaysia does not practice "harmonious democracy" like Indonesia where politicians do not have any problems in working together.
PKPIM president Hilmi Ramli (right), who was speaking to Malaysiakini said that "Malaysia should have emulated Indonesia's maturity where political parties have a loose alliance among themselves."But in Malaysia, Umno and PAS would have a problem in forging closer ties as Umno part of the BN and PAS is tied to Pakatan," he said.
Although Najib had yesterday said that the unity talks should go on as it was a "religious duty", Hilmi said that this could lead to disagreements among the other races in the country.
"They might accept Islam as the official religion, but would they acknowledge and accept other Malay rights that are already enshrined in the federal constitution?I think a unity government is just impossible here," said Hilmi.
Unity talks after setback
Meanwhile, Jemaah Islam Malaysia (JIM) president Zaid Kamaruddin argued that there is "no real reason" for the unity government talks to take place in the first place as the idea only came up after the ruling coalition suffered a severe setback in the general election last year.
"The election results should not be the reason for the unity talks...we can't just talk about having unity just because we lost in the general election," he said.
For the Malaysian United Muslim Students Association (Gamis), Umno should instead be more "honest" in offering an olive branch to PAS.
"If they are honest about having a unity government, they should have done it a long time ago when they were powerful. Why do they want to offer it now, when they are weaker?" asked its president Mohd Dzul Khairi Mohd Noor.
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