Umno Johor chief Abdul Ghani Othman's assertion that the concept of Bangsa Malaysia is not acceptable on grounds that it means rojak (mish-mash of races), has not gone down well with parliamentarians.

He sees the concept as a threat to political stability and to the special position of the Malays, according to a New Straits Times report today. In it, he also said meritocracy would be detrimental to Malay interests, and opposed the teaching of science and mathematics in English.

His views have sparked displeasure among MPs approached for comment in at Parliament House today:

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timur)

Have we all been living under a lie about Bangsa Malaysia? We now have Umno Johor making such statements about it being a rojak idea. What national unity is this under the Prime Minister's Department? Was the cabinet in 1991 a half- past-six cabinet?

Yes, there isn't a race that can be called Bangsa Malaysia but the meaning is citizenship for all of us. If not, then why are we celebrating 50 years of independence next year if Bangsa Malaysia is rojak and not acceptable, and meritocracy is withdrawn. Are we heading towards globalisation or are we going back into the previous century?

Maybe Abdul Ghani wants to up his position in Umno ... if so then Umno can be considered a threat to the welfare of the nation. His statement must be criticised as harshly as possible because this is un-Malaysian.

Lau Yeng Peng (BN-Puchong)

Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, the prime minister has said that the national mission is to achieve Vision 2020 and one of the key elements is to build a Bangsa Malaysia for all Malaysians. If we treat Bangsa Malaysia as rojak, this means we're going backwards.

It means that we would be going against government policy. I feel that we have to address this as soon as possible because, at the end of the day, we are not fighting among ourselves, we are competing against China, Vietnam, Indonesia in terms of economy competitiveness.

We have to be united and if we still talk about (issues) from a racial angle, we are really going backwards. The world isn't waiting for us, we have to chase and upgrade ourselves. I feel upset with Abdul Ghani's statement.

K Devamany (BN-Cameron Highlands)

Malaysia is governed by the constitution and we respect the rights of the bumiputeras. We accept that the Malay community is the most important community here politically but we must also work towards a Bangsa Malaysia which the government is advocating. It is more in the mind and soul of the nation.

We also recognise that bumiputeras are the majority force, providing stability. However, we've got to also think of a Malaysian nation of Bangsa Malaysia.

MCA Youth chief Liow Tiong Lai (BN-Bentong)

MCA Youth reiterates that Bangsa Malaysia is the spirit of the nation stated in Vision 2020. It's an aspiration and ambition that all races in the country should be united. I feel Abdul Ghani need not worry about this because we know what is important is national unity. We want to make sure all races in the country are united.

Whatever discrimination or problem we face, we have to solve it. Therefore MCA Youth will continue to promote this idea because this is the spirit that shows Malaysia's harmony that shows our formula for success. We disagree with Abdul Ghani's views on meritocracy because we think it is important to create successful Malaysians and not half-past-six graduates.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (Keadilan-Permatang Pauh)

We are all Malaysians. Bangsa relates to ethnic origin and we have to accept that. We have constitutional definitions of Malays and Muslims. But as Malaysians, we must be made to feel that we belong here. Of course our ancestors may come from somewhere else, but we're here now and we must have that sense of belonging and nationality. Bangsa Malaysia or whatever, that is just terminology. Rojak or not, we eat rojak all the time and it's very nice

As for meritocracy, what we want is to help those who don't have access to quality education. You may have had programmes to help the poor and marginalised like the Orang Asli. It's not fair to apply meritocracy to them. Everywhere in the world there is affirmative action, but not at the expense of the country moving forward.