Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun should stop playing the racial card and level political threats against the Chinese who support the opposition, DAP Youth said today, arguing that not only Chinese but all will suffer if Umno stays in power.

"Clearly, if Umno continues to be in power and the country continues to be led by scandal-hit Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, the nation will be damaged and the interests of all Malaysians, be they Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans or Kadazans, will be jeopardised and compromised," DAP Youth chief Wong Kah Woh said in a statement.

Wong said this in response to Khairul Azwan's statement at the Umno Youth AGM yesterday, in which he warned that Chinese who vote for the DAP will lose out, for without their support, the government would be dominated by Malays and bumiputeras, which may lead to policies that may not be to their liking.

Khairul Azwan had also warned that the call for Chinese language schools to be closed down might intensify and allocations and fundings may go to other communities with more representation in government.

Wong argued that the Umno Youth leader chose to play the racial card in an attempt to divert the nation's attention and regain the support of the people for Umno.

"Khairul Azwan is wrong and he has undermined the wisdom of the 51 percent of Malaysians who voted for the then opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, in 2013.

"He has also done wrong to the Malaysians, particularly to the youth, by relentlessly and blindly defending the scandal-linked Najib," Wong added.

The DAP Youth chief also said the rule of law in Malaysia has suffered severely under the 1MDB scandal, which continues to remain unresolved to the satisfaction of the people.

"This is only one of the many examples of how Malaysians have suffered under the administration of the BN-Umno government and this is what Khairul Azwan has conveniently ignored," Wong added.

GLC is not Umno property

Meanwhile, Wanita MCA today criticised Bagan Wanita Umno chief Hamidah Arshad for criticising the hiring of non-Malays for top jobs at government-linked companies.

Wanita MCA publicity bureau chief Low Yi Wen said she was aghast at the notion that GLCs belonged to one race only.

Low said GLC stood for government-linked companies and the government belongs to all Malaysian citizens irrespective of ethnicity and religion.

"The government is not owned privately by Umno. Tax-paying Malaysians of all races, gender and class contribute towards the government's coffers for allocations towards all ministries, government agencies including GLCs for national development in every budget," she said.

Low said Hamidah argument that non-Malays appointed to top positions in GLC will not give contracts to Malays was also an insult to the board of the GLCs.

"It is unfortunate that Hamidah has exploited the Wanita Umno debates to regress into racist profiling to score political mileage.

"Hailing from Penang, her rhetorical bigotry makes it tougher for multiracial BN to win back Penang state from DAP," she said.

Similarly, Gerakan national legal and human rights bureau chief Baljit Singh said the appointment should be merit based and not race.

"Qualification matters, not race. It is the way for Malaysia to move forward," Baljit told Malaysiakini.

"We know Umno is a race-based party but we need to speak for all Malaysians," he said.

"It is no point just being hero for your own race, we are in a multiracial coalition and should be aware of every one's sensitivities."

Baljit said what Hamidah should have done was to show proof that there were unqualified non-Malays taking up top GLC jobs.

Additional reporting by Susan Loone.