Zahid, who is deputy prime minister in Anwar’s Cabinet, said the unity government would not sideline other religions and the other communities.

He said the struggles championed by the government were in line with Umno’s struggle for the Malay and Islamic agenda.

“This is enshrined in the Umno constitution itself, we made Islam the objective of our party’s establishment and struggle without excluding other religions,” he told reporters after attending a Hari Raya Aidilfitri event organised by Perlis Umno here today.

“We should also be kind to our friends and the people from Sarawak and Sabah, and they understand that fact,” he said.

Anti-establishment to pro-establishment

He was commenting on the statement by Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir who said that the party would not enter an electoral pact with any coalition comprising Umno for the coming state elections.

On Umno’s chances in Kelantan and Terengganu in the state elections, Zahid said he was confident there was a trend of the people shifting their support to the unity government.

“I believe the trend has changed direction from anti-establishment to pro-establishment, with high confidence in the unity government under the leadership of Anwar,” he said.