Umno bets on race appeal to bury Pakatan

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 – Umno appears to have discarded plans to widen the party’s appeal and speak for all Malaysians. Facing pressure from its rank and file, and concerned that its mantle as defender of Malay rights is under threat from PAS, the ruling party is retreating into its own cocoon.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin gave a sneak peek of this insecure feeling during yesterday’s Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting.

During the meeting, Gerakan president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon highlighted a series of incendiary commentaries in the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and said he was troubled by the effect it was having on race relations.

Responding to this, Muhyiddin, who is shaping up to be a hawk in the administration, justified the pitch taken by saying that Malays believe that Umno is weak and giving in too much to the demands of non-Malays. - + selanjutnya

Umno bets on race appeal to bury Pakatan