The leader of the Islamists PAS Abdul Hadi Awang says it is forbidden for people of Islamic faith to surrender or give power to other races who are not Muslims.
He wrote in a column in the party newspaper Harakah Daily says this is like surrendering your home to a guest and then fleeing without a homeland to stand on.
The piece written in Malay is to explain to followers the party’s stand on the National Charter it signed with Umno in September and its presence in full force at the Malay Dignity Congress on Sunday.
He related the union with Umno and the Malay Dignity Congress to one common factor, that is the unity of the Malays and to awaken Malays to rise together in Islam.
He also said the next step for PAS would be to unite the two groups, that is the PAS-Umno with the parties that joined the Malay Dignity Congress.
In that respect he wants party members to open their hearing to the members of other Malay based parties.
On the other hand, the PAS leader says he listened to Mahathir’s message carefully.
Dr Mahathir got backlash for his speech at the congress, with some saying he ridiculed the Malays.
A right-wing Muslim movement Isma criticised the prime minister for his ‘attack’ on the Malays, pointing out that some issues the Prime Minister raised were akin to pointing a finger at himself.
In their portal Ismaweb, the movement’s president Aminuddin Yahaya says Mahathir had once again sought to belittle and weaken the spirit of the Malays with stale rhetoric.
“In actual fact, many of the issues (Mahathir) raised to blame the Malay race was caused by him,” he says.
Hadi says the Malays should look at the recent signs of the collapse of western civilisation that is decaying and burning itself and its environment.
“This homeland is a gift from Allah to the Malay Muslims and must be preserved in order to uphold the religion of God entrusted to them on this blessed land, to serve as a model and guide to other non-Muslim nations by God’s command,” he writes.
Hadi called on his followers to embrace knowledge, faith, charity and piety, reminding them that “our weaknesses are supplemented by non-Muslim plans that are hostile to Islam and its adherents”. -/TISG