Mohamad, more commonly known as Mat Sabu, stressed the need to strongly oppose the use of identity politics, including the use of divisive tactics and fear-mongering by falsely claiming that Islam is under threat and that the Malays are being neglected.
“When a party adopts extreme views on religion, coupled with racial politics, this leads the country into a power struggle filled with toxicity, extremity and the inability to move forward.
“Race and religion are two identities most easily manipulated for political gain, leading to the dangerous practice of branding one another as non-believers (of Islam) or being ‘less of a Muslim’,” he said in his presidential address at the party’s national convention here.
Yesterday, PN’s Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal doubled down on his push to limit the office of prime minister to only Malays, daring his critics to go to court over the issue.
He said those who continued making the call to restrict the prime ministership to Malays as being “apartheid-like” were in essence challenging Malay rights under the Federal Constitution.
Wan Fayhsal had recently asked the prime minister to table a bill to amend the constitution to reflect this, claiming he and other Malay MPs in the opposition would back it.
Wan Fayhsal gave a statement to the police after Sarawak DAP lodged a report against him. The complainants claimed that his remarks were “incendiary” and discriminatory towards the Sabah and Sarawak communities.
Mohamad said Amanah will always be open to cooperating with parties with the same principles and objectives, not just seeking “marriages of convenience”, which he described as “weak and temporary in nature”.
He, however, acknowledged Amanah’s susceptibility to internal conflict if members only focused on advocating for the interest of a select few or specific groups during the party’s election for the top posts.
“I am concerned that those within Amanah who do not understand the party’s ideology are merely ‘riding along’ without truly embracing our party’s principles,” he said.
The election of the five highest positions, including the presidency, from among the 27 members of the Amanah National Leadership Committee is among the highlights at the party’s national convention over the next two days.