Noraini said Umno has long served the Malay community, unlike PAS and Bersatu, who are still lost in their own imaginations of what the Islamic and Malay struggle should be.

“While PAS is dreaming of an idealistic Islamic state, Umno has built concrete Islamic institutions – from Islamic banks to Islamic universities.

“While Bersatu is caught up in its own version of the Malay struggle, Umno is elevating the status of Malays on the global stage.

“The truth is, Umno doesn’t need to prove anything because we embody the Malay struggle itself,” she said at the Wanita Umno general assembly at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.

Noraini said this is no longer the time to prove who is more Malay or the champion of the community, as racial rhetoric will only harm society.

“We often hear notions that Malay and Islamic politics are in decline, that the voices of the Malays and Muslims are being sidelined.

“There are those who claim that Umno’s cooperation in the unity government is a betrayal of the Malay race and the Islamic faith. (But) we must realise that extreme racial rhetoric will only damage the social fabric of our society,” she said.