Having received accolades at the Malay rights NGO Perkasa annual assembly yesterday, Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia today returned the favour by calling the controversial NGO a "fighter" which should be embraced.

In an opinion piece today, Utusan News Editor Zulkiflee Bakar said instead of fearing the group as "ghosts" the group should be seen for what it is - "a catalyst for unity".

NONE This echoes Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali who asserted the same at the annual assembly, which was also attended by Utusan group Editor-in-chief Aziz Ishak ( left ).

According to Zulkiflee, the only people who fear Perkasa are those who are "afraid of their own shadows" and are in fact themselves racist as they insist on "seeing Perkasa from a racial point of view".

"If Perkasa is racist then what about other organisations that defend the rights of other races? Why the double standards?" he asked.

"We should face facts that Perkasa exists for the noble cause of defending the rights of Malays and the bumiputera, and to safeguard what is already enshrined in the Federal Constitution."

Adoringly, Zulkiflee said everything that the NGO has done has been "to avoid interracial tension" despite what was charged by its detractors, who "may have their own agenda".

'Pure Malays' read Utusan

He said that Perkasa's detractors perhaps fear the NGO as it is powerful, with a membership base of 200,000 nationwide, including young people.

"It continues to open its doors to all Malays on the basis that it wants to unite Malays...and it has succeeded," he said, adding that those who want Perkasa to fail just want Malays to remain divided.

He added that those who want a split in the Malay community will continue to whip sentiments that Perkasa is both racist and political when it has "never undermined national safety and security".

"Remember, Perkasa is not a ghost or monster to be feared, but a fighter," he said.

perkasa chief ibrahim ali 2nd agm 2 The daily also reported that Ibrahim ( centre in photo ), who is also Pasir Mas MP, said that Malays should be proud of Utusan for giving voice to the struggles of the community, despite brickbats from society.

"Perkasa would not have succeeded today if not for Utusan . From the days of (former Information Minister) Zainuddin Maidin until today, Utusan has strongly defended Malay rights and has continued to do so despite being slammed by certain groups.

"Thus I would like to stress that as Malays, we should defend this newspaper which has been kind to us... Malays who don't read Utusan are not pure Malays" he was reported to have said at the assembly.

Zainuddin was also in the audience yesterday, alongside former police chief Rahim Noor.