Pro-tem chairperson of the Jalur Tiga (Jati) movement Hasan Ali today said that the new NGO will not compete with Malay-rights groups Perkasa despite having the same objectives.

At a press conference in Shah Alam, Hasan said that instead the NGO, which has the objectives of upholding Islam, Malays and the royal institution (IMR), will “complement” existing organisations with the same goals.

“We are not concerned with duplication... as long as their goals are IMR, we will work together through networking or on a conceptual and philosophical level,” he said.

He said that he believes in the cliche “the more the merrier” and that having more organisations of the same stripes gives people more options.

“Sometimes people may like the objectives but not the leaders,” he said, adding that Jati has submitted its registration application to the Registrar of Societies.

Pro-tem committee member Mohd Aidit Ghazali, also present today, added that Jati’s niche was it will “not only find the root cause of the afflictions of society, but will propose solutions”.

“The beauty of having a movement is that it can have mass followers, whether or not they are registered.

“We will not be a slave of membership numbers. What is important is that IMR has a mass following,” he said.

Hasan said that membership will be opened to all at its launch at the Shah Alam Convention Centre on Tuesday, and the response so far has been “very encouraging”.

“People who attend my roadshows keep asking me for application forms and have volunteered to set up Jati on the state level,” he said, adding that the Perak chapter will be launched on Feb 27.

Moderates, but to a limit

Mohd Aidit added that the NGO expects 1,000 people, including NGOs and professionals, at its launch, which will feature nasyid presentations and a monologue by poet Nuri Angkasa over hi-tea.

“They will be people who uphold Islam, consider Malays the custodians of Islam and the royal institution as protectors of Islam,” he said of those expected at the launch.

Asked if Jati was pushing for a moderate approach, Hasan said: “By sheer looks, do we look like extremists? We are portraying the image of moderates, but if people step on our heads we would not react moderately.

“Malaysiakini may consider me extreme but others do not,” he said.

Asked if Jati will continue his anti-apostasy activities, Hasan said this must be decided by the committee and they will need to do more research on what needs to be done first.

He added that the NGO will not sideline non-Muslims, and will “respect them as human beings” and even extend their services to non-Muslim communities.

He said that Jati will look at Islam as a way of life, and not only confine its activities to religious matters.

“We will look at Islam in the context of a plural society, in a larger picture, not tits and bits,” he added.

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