'Perkasa is the public face of Umno's hypocrisy and its cunning aspirations for ‘Ketuanan Melayu'. Perkasa announces what Umno secretly subscribes to.'
Perkasa scoffs at Umno/BN rejection
Limml: Ibrahim Ali was sacked from Umno. Now there are Umno members who are openly supporting him and lending Perkasa a helping hand. What if these members were to openly support and help Anwar Ibrahim?
How can these members, who should be loyal to the party, support someone who has 'threatened' the party's president and bad mouthed its Youth chief?
Cala: The ideology of Ibrahim Ali/Perkasa is not founded on solid ground. He cannot hope to win support from Malays working solely on the basis of race expecting that the long drawn out affirmative action continues while at the same time saying nothing about cronyism, corrupt practices, leakages and inefficiency in the governance of the current regime.
To condone the regime of doing the same thing will surely drive away more support from the very group that it intends to gain support (see Dr Lim Teck Ghee's comment that only a few of tens of thousands of Malays benefit from the NEP).
Albert: Perkasa (read Ibrahim Ali) says that it doesn't need Umno support. Ibrahim Ali is getting thick-headed. He thinks he is all mighty. And he can criticise everyone from Pakatan Rakyat, MCA chief, Umno Youth chief to the PM himself. He thinks he is right and everyone else is wrong.
Come the next general election, he says that he doesn't need the support from BN. PAS will surely not support him. Do you think he can retain his MP post? God helps us if he does! His head will then be bigger than a pumpkin.
Changeagent: I'm glad that Umno has finally come to the realisation that Perkasa will weigh the party down, albeit a little too late. What do they think the public have been trying to tell them all along? Their earlier indifference and lack of resolve to distance themselves from this racist militant group have surely costed them a lot of lost support from sensible Malaysians.
Vijay: Such is the credibility of Umno that nobody will believe them when they say they have nothing to do with Perkasa. Just like nobody believes - despite their protestation - that the Home Ministry does not interfere with the police force.
Actually Perkasa is doing the nation a great favour, so much so that we should never clamour for its closure. Perkasa is the public face of Umno's hypocrisy and its cunning aspirations for ‘Ketuanan Melayu'. Perkasa announces what Umno secretly subscribes to.
So we need Perkasa as a reminder of what Umno really is and that for all its sweet talk. Umno must never again be trusted, not after 53 years of unrestrained racist policies and its corrupt track record.
WanFair: Show the public that Umno has dissociated with Perkasa with action, not just words. Go after Umno members who are directly supporting Perkasa. Give the Perkasa advisor, TDM (Tun Dr Mahathir) - who is an Umno member - a show-cause letter and suspend his membership to show that Umno seriously meant what it said.
BN component parties, be wise and do not get hookwinked by mere declaration - words without action are words without substance.
Freemsia: Umno's statement that it will not have ties with Perkasa is all nothing but an attempt to hookwink the non-Malays. If Umno really is against Perkasa, Umno would have put Ibrahim Ali and his goons under ISA a long time ago. What is even worse, the Home Ministry actually approves Perkasa's license to publish its own newspaper.
Ruben: I am very surprised at Umno's response of distancing itself from Perkasa and of course, happy that they have done this. But their statement should be matched by action.
We have had a lot of statements in the past which ended up being mere rhetoric. An interesting thing to note is KJ's (Khairy Jamaluddin's) comment that most of Perkasa members are Umno members .
So, Umno what actions are you going to take against these members? After all, you took very strong action of suspending or sacking members who were found criticising Umno openly or allegedly supporting the opposition in the last general election.
JBGUY: Perkasa claims to represent Malay interests by asking the ruling government to continue providing handouts to the Malays. This stance is actually detrimental to the Malays in the long run, and even industrious Malays will succumb to this and become lazy and uncompetitive.
Moreover, it is time that the Malays show the world that they are industrious and can compete on equal footing with the best. Even Islam does not condone discrimination in any form. In fact, the Prophet was known for his unyielding principles of being fair to all, regardless of their religious practices.
I salute Nik Aziz Nik Mat for he has clearly shown himself to be a true Muslim in defending the rights of the non-Muslims and he espouses fairness in all dealings. To Ibrahim Ali, do you want to be known as a champion of the Malays or do you want to be known as a true Muslim?
DOC: Umno/BN rejects Perkasa? I don't think Dr Mahathir Mohamad - the godfather of Perkasa - will take this lightly.
Perkasa: Don't blame us for Umno's woes
Satinah Osman: Perkasa has been outsourced to do the 'dirty' work for Umno so that Umno looks clean. That is too well-known to most citizens as they have wised up to our political leaders and their rhetoric.
However, Perkasa is not doing Umno's dirty work free of charge. It will be interesting to know as to who funds it. Unlike in the past (a long, long ago), men and women and Mat Rempits do not attend rallies for nothing. The organisers, the head honchos and their minions all have to be 'paid' and be fed, given transport and provided with 'entertainment'. Surely Ibrahim Ali is not selling his land and house to pay for the crowd.
DontPlayGod: Don't forget that most of Perkasa members are from Umno, including the former PM, TDM. So what can we conclude? Umno has outsourced its racist and discriminating policies to Perkasa, with TDM as the mastermind and chief supporter.
Umno is now trying to play the good and innocent party, hoping to win over the non-Malays. But we will not be duped. If you want to know the real Umno, read Umno's own paper, Utusan Malaysia .
Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal: "Syed Hassan said that it was the actions of Umno themselves which were repulsing voters." I guess this is one rare statement in a very rare occasion that all the BN component parties (excluding Umno) will actually agree to.
Anonymous: All this is just sandiwara for Umno to win the votes of the non-Malays. There was never any intention in the first place for Perkasa, nor Ibrahim Ali, to stand for election in any seat as it is a foregone conclusion that they would lose, and probably their deposits as well.
Perkasa's role is to fill the role that Umno Youth used to have. But now that Umno wants to pretend that they are not ultra-Malays, they have formed Perkasa to take on that task. After all, it has Dr M helming it, Ibrahim Ali is just his front man.
Malaysiasakit: Perkasa, please don't take us for fools. Right from the word go, you were working hand-in-glove with the warlords in Umno. If you (Ibrahim Ali) indeed have acted independently, I am sure you would have been languishing in Kamunting.
By being ultra-Malays, you try to make Umno look moderate. In case you are unaware, this good cop-bad cop situation will work in Malaysia during the 1980s but in the age of information technology, it is outdated.
The strategy seems to have backfired and put Umno is a desperate situation. So, where do you go now? Push the race card further or retire in disgrace? The damage is done and you'll soon reap the fruits your labour.
Phra Ong Chao: Are elections around the corner? If so, is that why Umno feels like it need to disassociate itself from Perkasa in such a sudden manner? Kudos to both for the great effort in planning and executing such an elaborate and laborious 'wayang' (show).
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