Malaysians, including Malays, must stand up to the notion that Umno is the sole guardian of Malay interests, said DAP's Raub MP Mohd Arif Abdul Aziz. 
 
Mohd Arif said Umno has self-appointed itself as the guardian of Malay interests and everything that is Malay.
 
"That idea... is a blatant lie that has been shoved down out throats for a long time by the Umno bourgeois elites," he said in a blog posting yesterday.
 
Calling it a "great lie", Mohd Arif said the notion had to be exposed.
 
"The idea, the notion of a supra entity guarding our interests, flies against the concept of the free men that we are.
 
"The guardian of our rights is not the political party, but us collectively acting through a government, pursing our collective legitimate interests and rights," he said.
 
Mohd Arif drew an example of a Kampung Special Constabulary, a Malay village in his constituency comprising former servicemen who have endured the lack of proper water supply since 2006.
 
"Any housing estate peopled by non-Malays would be up in arms if they don’t have water for more than a day
 
"But Malay villagers would endure these shortages in good faith attributing the miserable water supply as a vicissitude of nature.  
 
"Umno has been doing the best it could. We must not upset Umno in its rapacious quest to develop the district," he said.
 
However, Mohd Arif said this was changing as the villagers there have taken upon themselves to protest the poor state they are in.
 
"The prolonged disruption is simply caused by mismanagement, bad policies and human interference. Nothing to do with nature. 
 
"Malays are challenging the narration given by Umno.  
 
Malays have now acquired a new sense of political awareness and its causing alarm bells within the Umno establishment," he said.