Malay rights advocates Perkasa has hit out at Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin for defending his MCA counterpart, warning that the move was akin to "selling out" the Malay race.

NONE Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali ( right ) said Khairy did not comprehend what was tacitly meant by MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong when he spoke about Mara scholarships and Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships.

"That is why Perkasa is angry. How can Mara scholarships be compared to PSD scholarships? Mara is exclusively for the Malays. PSD is for all.

"If the two are comparable, then what special privileges is left for the Malays?" asked Ibrahim in a strongly worded text message statement today.

Last week, Wee urged the government not to scrap PSD scholarships because it was the non-bumiputeras only avenue of obtaining government study aid.

He added that bumiputeras should empathise with non-bumiputeras by considering the effect of Mara scholarships being scrapped.

NONE For this, Wee was attacked by Ibrahim for purportedly questioning Malay rights and was called, among others, " biadap " (disrespectful) and " kurang ajar " (rude).

Yesterday, Wee found an unlikely ally in Khairy (l eft) who said there was nothing wrong with the former's statements.

Refined Malay not taught

In retort, Ibrahim claimed Khairy failed to see through Wee's doublespeak.

"Oxford (University) does not teach refined Malay. He (Khairy) cannot understand what was implied (by Wee). If that is the case, quit as an MP. Same with Wee.

"Or else, Khairy is willing to sell out his own race," said Ibrahim.

Ibrahim said that Wee's statements were very clear and should not be misinterpreted and Perkasa will not budge on the issue.

NONE "Perkasa is compelled to act on the truth... leaders must have credibility, trust and morals," he added.

It was reported in The Star on June 16 that Wee ( left ) said, "If the government is only doing away with the PSD scholarships but retains the Mara scholarships, this will not in line with the 1Malaysia concept that the government is promoting".

Wee said that this does not mean that he wanted Mara scholarships to be scrapped.