Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir says there is no need to punish Bukit Mertajam division chief Musa Sheikh Fadzir for suggesting the "1Malaysia" slogan be replaced with "1Melayu".

He said this in response to Gerakan's demand that Umno compel Musa to withdraw his  remark at the party's general assembly yesterday, or be forced to leave Umno.

NONE Approached by reporters on the sidelines of today's session, Mukhriz said there was no need to heed Gerakan's demand.

"Of course not... We are talking about the unity of Malays - what is so racial about that?

"Gerakan is interpreting it as unity of Malays means it will be at the expense of others," he said.

Earlier today, Penang Gerakan issued a strong statement urging Umno to direct Musa to apologise and retract his call.

State Gerakan secretary Oh Tong Keong said the racist statement violated the spirit of 1Malaysia,the slogan of Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak's administration.

Gerakan: BN no place for racist

Oh said Musa should not be allowed to remain in Umno as the controversial figure would damage the BN partnership and national unity.

NONE In view of this, Oh ( right ) urged the top Umno leadership, including Najib and deputy president and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, to tell Musa to retract the statement and apologise to non-Malays.

"I think racists like Musa are outdated and should not be allowed to remain in Umno and BN.

"With his existence, Umno and BN will only lose more support," he said.

Meanwhile, Gerakan's newly-minted president Mah Siew Keong in a separate statement adpoted a softer line, saying Musa's suggestion to use 1Melayu was "wrong".

NONE "Changing the concept of 1Malaysia to 1Melayu will also alienate our brothers and sisters from Sabah and Sarawak, especially, those who voted for the BN.

 

“The Malaysian Chinese, Indians and other non-Malay races were also born in Malaysia. We are proud to be Malaysians and we will die as Malaysians.

"Most of us know of no other home other than Malaysia. We are as proud to be a Malaysian as any other Malay,” Mah ( above ) said.

He added that while non-Malay support did experience a "big drop" in GE13, Umno should not write off their support in the future. 

Drop the pretence

The duo were responding to Musa Sheikh's proposal when debating the presidential address at the Umno assembly yesterday that the latter had justified  his statement because the other races had not helped Penang Umno during the 13th general election.

NONE Pakatan Rakyat swept the majority of the state constituencies in Penang in the May 5 polls , denying Gerakan and BN the highly coveted state for a second term since the 2008 'tsunami'.

The Penang delegate said 1Malaysia was pointless, as the Chinese had “betrayed” BN.

“What’s the use of helping them? We did all these things they stab our backs. All that effort... to hold dinners and such with almost RM30 a head,” Musa was also quoted as saying by The Malay Mail Online.

Mukhriz' defence of Musa is another slap in the face for Gerakan, that in October was accused by the Kedah MB as being "more racist than DAP" for standing up for Chinese rights.