Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin last night defended Umno's role in championing Islam by stating that the party had been doing so even before PAS did.

"If we see Umno's constitution, one aspect is to strengthen Islam," he told residents of Manek Urai in a late night campaign.

NONE He said that Umno had been fighting for the religion and the Malay race since its inception in May, 1946 by fighting for independence.

"The struggle for independence was a religious demand. Umno did not only free the country but brought progress to society," he said.

He added that he was shocked by PAS' claims that Umno did not champion Islam.

He said PAS had been making such claims to fish for votes for the Manek Urai state seat by-election on July 14.

Muhyiddin also said that Umno had built many mosques and developed Islamic institutions like the Tabung Haji dan Takaful besides building schools, hospitals and clinics for the people, reported Bernama .

Petronas to respond on royalty claim

In the ceramah, Muhyiddin also touched on PAS-led Kelantan government's demands for a RM1 billion oil royalty for oil taken from the state since 2004.

NONE He said that the cabinet has directed national oil company Petronas to respond to Kelantan's demands by Friday.

"The off-shore areas (claimed by Kelantan) are outside the state boundaries and belong to the federal administration.

"Furthermore, most of the Petronas profits are re-channelled back to the government where RM20 billion to RM30 billion per annum are given to us to bring development to the entire country including Kelantan," he said.

The deputy prime minister also said that the constituency of Manek Urai would be a ‘golden child' of Barisan Nasional if the Umno candidate wins the by-election.

Umno's Tuan Aziz Tuan Mat will face PAS' Mohd Fauzi Abdullah in the contest.