Malays told to reject peninsula-based political parties

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KUCHING: Malays in Sarawak are urged to be united and reject elements that can divide them, especially opposition political parties from Peninsular Malaysia.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem said all Sarawakians in fact, including the Malays, should reject this kind of people and try to resolve their own problems without any third-party interference.

“We must learn from history and we don’t want this kind of elements to divide our community. What we want is for the Malays in Sarawak to continue to be united in facing any challenges.

“I have several time stated my stand before this; that we do not want political parties from the Peninsula be it PAS, PKR or DAP to influence the Malays here because we can solve our own problems,” he said at state-level Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri 2014 organised by Amanah Khairat Yayasan Budaya Melayu Sarawak at Imperial Hotel yesterday.

Adenan, who is also PBB president, said Sarawak not only refused to accept these opposition parties here, but also Umno even though it’s a Barisan Nasional component party.

“It is not that we don’t like Umno, but we already have an ‘Umno’ in Sarawak in the form of PBB. We believe in ourselves in solving our own problems.”

Adenan also recalled that state DAP chairman, during the last State Legislative Assembly sitting, had challenged PBB deputy president Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg to bar Umno from entering Sarawak.

To this he said: “I agree with the challenge but with the condition that DAP, PKR and DAP are also not allowed to enter Sarawak because they are Peninsula-based parties.”

On Amanah Khairat Yayasan Budaya Melayu Sarawak, Adenan, who was its previous chairman, called on the Malay community in Sarawak to be united so that they would continue to progress like other races. He said there was a time before independence when the Malays were considered weak because they were backward and not united.

“We are not the majority community in Sarawak and we do not want to become even smaller due to our disunity.

“However, from the 1960s we realised and began to be united and among the leaders who united us was the Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud,” he said.