Johor Umno deputy chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
JOHOR BARU: If DAP really wants the support of Malays through cooperation with Umno, it needs to make big changes to achieve success in GE16, says Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
The Umno supreme council member said that there was no other way to convince Malays that DAP today is different from before, apart from it being willing to drop the Secular Nation agenda and the Malaysia Malaysian slogan in its party constitution.
'Because those two agendas continue to traumatise Malays and make them unable to accept DAP," he said in a Facebook post on Thursday (Aug 31).
"The question is 'Does DAP dare to make such a big sacrifice for the sake of their political survival?'.
"If DAP is still hesitant to make major changes like the sacrifices Umno is willing to make today, I expect DAP will continue to be isolated by Malay voters and Umno would also continue to be rejected by Malays as long as we work with them,” he added.
“Another big situation that DAP has to deal with is that the wave of Malay support for PAS will be stronger in GE16 and in the future,” he added.
Nur Jazlan said many would then see an extreme political situation where the Chinese will continue to support DAP as their party and the Malays will switch to PAS as their party.
“Right now the Malays only have two options either to switch their support totally to PAS or to accept Umno as a vehicle for their struggle.
“That is why all parties including DAP also need to help restore Umno and to being the main party in the country as it was before 2018,” he added.
The Pulai Umno division chief said in the current political landscape, it was not only Umno that needs to change but all parties in the unity government coalition must also change if they want to be accepted by Malays.
“When I chatted with Malay voters in Selangor during the state election and in this by-election, the majority of them said that they still cannot easily accept DAP's way of politics.
“When I asked why all this time the Malays could accept MCA in Barisan Nasional, they said MCA was not extreme and Umno was the dominant party in the coalition.
“They say they cannot accept a secular agenda in the party as it is completely against the Islamic and Malay Shari'a. So that's why Malays draw the line at accepting or supporting DAP even though they are cooperating with Umno in the unity government,” he added.
He said that Umno was paying a huge price for working with Pakatan Harapan, in particular.
"Umno continues to be criticised for "conspiring with an absolute enemy".
“Umno has made various changes after 2018. The president has changed, the deputy president is also someone else, the three vice-presidents are also two new faces, as well as Youth and Wanita wings have been led by new individuals.
“In fact, in the Melaka and Johor state elections as well as the 15th General Election (GE15), Umno has fielded many new-faced candidates, including young people.
“And the biggest sacrifice and change is when Umno temporarily set aside its principles by agreeing to sit at the same table with the absolute political enemy that is DAP in the unity government to ensure the stability of the country can be finalised after GE15,” he said.
He added that it was becoming tiresome among Umno leadership to inform the public, especially its grassroots, about the rational behind the move.
