He also hit out at Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Najib Razak’s statement at a Mara event that the body would not exist if Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) did not defend it.

“Najib also said that if PH wins GE14, Mara will not be defended and will be completely eliminated.

“I want to assure all of you – I myself am a product of Mara. I assure you that the PH government will not just defend Mara, but will strengthen Mara even more than what Umno and BN have done,” he told a PH ceramah held at Padang Matsirat here last night.

Also present were PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad, PH president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin, and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

Mukhriz said Najib had tried to instil fear among the Malays by saying that PH would not stand up for the Malays and the Muslims, that it would reject the special rights of the Malays, and that it would not defend Islam as the religion of the federation.

“These are all lies that we should utterly reject,” he said.

Mukhriz also took aim at Umno, claiming that the party which prided itself on defending the Malays was the same party which was destroying Mara.

“Umno, which is supposed to defend Islam, has instead destroyed Tabung Haji. Umno, which is supposed to be the defender of our farmers, is the one who has ruined Felda.”

He urged the Malay community not to believe Umno’s claim that it was the only one which could defend the rights of the Malays.

“It is Umno themselves who have ruined all the rights of Malays to the point that Malays do not know where to put their face.

“I assure you, PH will uphold the Federal Constitution, and we will uphold what is enshrined in the constitution, which includes the rights of Malays and the rights of non-Muslims.

“This is our promise and our assurance. Believe in what we say,” he added.

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