Instead, the wing’s chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said it was time to move forward.
“Whatever happened in the past, let bygones be bygones,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting with senior Umno Youth leaders today.
Asyraf said the cooperation between Umno and PAS was not about the collaboration between two Malay-Muslim parties, but an attempt to rebuild Malaysia based on the Federal Constitution.
Earlier today, Dr Mahathir Mohamad questioned the cooperation between PAS and Umno, reminding the latter that it was once called “kafir”, or infidel, by the Islamist party.
“They were rivals. PAS has said Umno is a party of infidels,” the prime minister was quoted as saying.
Umno and PAS are set to formalise their cooperation with a charter up by a joint committee, to be signed by top leaders of both parties this month.
Asyraf said the call for PAS to retract the label is a “non-issue”, adding that the Islamist party could also raise issues during Mahathir’s first stint as the prime minister.
“Until today, Mahathir hasn’t apologised to PAS over what happened in Memali,” he said.
The Kampung Memali incident in Baling, Kedah, saw a confrontation between police and supporters of religious teacher Ibrahim Libya, who resisted attempts to arrest him under the Internal Security Act.
The confrontation in 1985 resulted in the deaths of 18 people, four of them policemen.
Mahathir has claimed he was not in the country during the incident and passed the responsibility to his then deputy Musa Hitam.
Last year, PAS called for the formation of an RCI to probe the bloody incident.
“So, before Tun Mahathir asks PAS to apologise (over the kafir label), I hope that he will apologise for what happened during his tenure as the prime minister at that time.”
‘Buying Muslim-made First’
Asyraf said Umno Youth also supported a recent campaign urging Muslim consumers to prioritise products by Muslims, adding that it could help Bumiputera and Muslim entrepreneurs.
He, however, said that this did not mean that it was calling for a boycott of products by non-Muslims.
“This campaign has got nothing to do with boycotting Muslim products. And this is the consumers’ rights,” he said.
Asyraf said the government was trying to fan racial sentiments by giving the impression that the “Buy Muslim First” campaign was a call to boycott goods by non-Muslims.
The campaign began on social media, with the Bumiputera community urged to avoid buying products made by businesses owned by non-Bumiputeras.
Mahathir has since called for an end to the boycott campaign, saying it could only anger other quarters.