Brushing aside claims that Perkasa is an Umno stooge, its secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali insisted that the right-wing group is in fact a non-partisan movement.

“We do not want to be seen supporting a certain party. This non-partisan stance is important to ensure that we can criticise the government if they have done wrong,” he was quoted as saying in Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia.

Syed Hassan blamed the opposition for creating a perception that Perkasa was aligned to Umno.

“They (opposition) want the rakyat to hate Perkasa. When people hate Perkasa, they hope that the rakyat will also hate Umno.

“That is why they deliberately create the perception that Umno is behind Perkasa,” he said.

He added that Perkasa is serving as an alternative for Malay leadership as the old leadership no longer dared to speak up.

Last month, Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali declared that the ring-wing group could replace Umno.

In response, Umno veteran Mohd Isa Abdul Samad rebutted that Perkasa had received “plenty of help” from Umno.

Syed Hassan later admitted that his group had received government funding including from agencies such as the National Security Council (MKN), National Civics Bureau (BTN) and Special Affairs Department (Jasa).