“If Umno is not racist, then which race is it fighting for?” the group’s secretary-general, Syed Hassan Syed Ali, said in a statement today.
He also mocked Nazri, saying that by calling Perkasa “racist”, the Umno supreme council member had indirectly declared that Umno was no longer a party that fought for the rights of the Malays and the Bumiputeras.
“Oh… Umno fights for all races. Nazri may not know the difference between a government, a party and an NGO.
“The government, yes, it has to fight for all races, but it still has to abide by the provisions of the Federal Constitution.
“A party must move along with its constitution. Umno is definitely about race, religion, and the country.
“I’m not sure what race refers to in Umno’s constitution, but I think everyone knows it’s the Malays,” Syed Hassan quipped.
He also asked if the leaders of DAP, MCA and MIC were better at fighting for their respective races than Umno leaders.
Earlier today, Nazri, who is tourism and culture minister, said Perkasa was full of racists, following Syed Hassan’s statement lambasting the launch of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
Syed Hassan had described the event as “too Chinese”, claiming that the ceremony, attended by top Chinese officials and Prime Minister Najib Razak, was proof that the country had been “colonised” through its economy.
He also said it was unfortunate that the emcee of the event spoke in Mandarin.
Nazri, however, said the world had become multilingual and that there was nothing wrong with speaking in languages other than Bahasa Melayu.
To this, Syed Hassan said if Nazri was proud of his mother tongue, the minister would have spoken in Bahasa Melayu regardless of which event he was attending.
He also slammed the lifestyle of some Umno leaders, which he said was too “westernised”.
He also said it came as no surprise then that the concept of ‘Bahasa Melayu as the national language’ was something Umno no longer fought for.
“In fact, even slogans created by national leaders are mostly in English. That is the fate of Bahasa Melayu under the leadership of BN and Umno now.
“If the number of national leaders like Nazri increases, then in the future, Malay rights will no longer be defended and strengthened,” said Syed Hassan.