Salleh talks of Umno’s enemies

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno’s enemy are those who question the special rights provided in the country’s social contract to Malays, said Datuk Seri Salleh Said Keruak (pix).

The Umno Supreme Council member said the party had the responsibility to ensure that the social contract, provided in the Federal Constitution, is not breached by other quarters.

He outlined the five rights which have been agreed in the social contract by the nation’s founding fathers, which include the position of the Malay rulers, the Malay language, special rights of Malays and bumiputra, Islam and citizenship.

“Four of the rights, excluding citizenship, cannot be shared with others and are only for Malays,” said Salleh who is communications and multimedia minister.

“This is the basis of Umno’s struggle, to ensure that the rights that cannot be shared must be defended. Our enemies are those who try to take away the four rights that cannot be shared with anyone,” he said in his speech at the Information Convention 2016 at Putra World Trade Centre here organised in conjunction with the Umno general assembly.

He said Umno must not deviate from its initial struggle to remain as a party with a clear ideology.

“A party that can remain forever is a party with an ideology. Umno’s ideology is for the ‘bangsa, agama dan negara’ (race, religion and nation). The basis is to defend the four rights in the social contract,” he said.

However, Salleh noted that party members sometimes forgot the basis of Umno’s struggle as they were distracted by other matters.

Salleh named former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as one of the threats and challenges that Umno needed to deal with.