Calling it irrational, the former minister said the Umno treasurer’s statement that DAP could do so by having 60 out of the 222 parliamentary seats “baffles even the weakest mind”.
“How on earth can any rational person believe the narrative that a group comprising 25% of the population can exert political control over the majority of 65% in a democratic country such as Malaysia?” Zaid said in a blog post today.
“The answer lies in the psychological composition of the present crop of Umno leaders.
“When they were young and either in school or in their political cadre briefings, these leaders were brainwashed into believing that the real threat to their power and general wellbeing were Chinese who were not with the MCA.
“They were told that MCA Chinese were no threat because they just followed whatever Umno wanted, without question, as opposed to the real enemy, DAP Chinese,” Zaid said, adding that Malays, should realise that the real enemy are those who have too much power.
He claimed that the Malays have seen their share of the economic pie become smaller compared with the days when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister, despite Umno holding all the power being the main component in the ruling Barisan Nasional.
“This shows us that raw political power is useless in the hands of leaders who do not know how to empower the community.
Referring to recent incidents over the alleged erasing of Mahathir’s legacy, Zaid said that was another aspect of how Malays had so much power that they could even rewrite or revise history.
He also referred to how the Malays in power like to tackle matters that are easy, but do not do what is more difficult to accomplish.
“Malays talk a lot about religious matters but talk is easy. Making judgements about others is easy. Making it a crime to have a different opinion is easy.
“But what good does any of this do for Malays?
“On the other hand, improving the lives of the people is not easy. Giving Malays a proper education isn’t easy.
It isn’t easy to change their habits and attitudes towards work or to make them honest and trustworthy,” Zaid said, reminding Salleh that political power is useless if that power is used instead to help the community self-destruct.
“In other words, building a self-reliant and prosperous community takes hard work.
“You already have more than enough to do good, so why take the easy route and keep bashing my party when it will do nothing to improve the lot of Malays?” he told Salleh.
Zaid then suggested a debate with the communications and multimedia minister to talk about the real issues that threaten the Malays.
“Let’s discuss the real issues: education, employment, wages and career advancement.
“You can decide the details, such as venue, and I will be there.”
Salleh: Kit Siang fears Najib’s US visit may prove him wrong