YOURSAY | 'Salleh, you are absolutely right, please don't open up Umno to non-Malays...'

Salleh: No reason for Umno to open up to non-Malays

Anonymous #44199885: This is surely a tragic statement from Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak, who communicates his party's strident unwillingness to open up membership to all Malaysians and break the mould of communal politics, and so continues the tradition of race and ethnic-based politics which has kept Malaysians apart since independence.

Well done, Mr Minister of Communications.

Anonymous #19098644: Once upon a time Umno championed Malay rights and defended the rights of all Malaysians as provided for under the federal constitution.

Today Umno has evolved into a corrupt party misusing religion and demonising the Chinese community for their own selfish, divisive brand of extremist racial politics.

They are not the Umno of the first premier Tunku Abdul Rahman who had fought for Malaysia's independence, but they are the decadent Umno Baru of Prime Minister Najib Razak, the champion of scandals.

TC Chan: Salleh is probably only Malay by legal definition. His ethnic roots are not. There are non-Malay Christian Umno leaders and members in Sabah. So what is he talking about? Perhaps he does not recognise them as members?

Anonymous #7856234569: What Salleh says is understandable. Umno is consistently a racist party.

Anonymous 2305141436452229: Thanks, Salleh, for continuously admitting that Umno and the BN component parties are still out of touch with the growing openness and modernity in Malaysians who do not see race as a key issue when fighting for a better Malaysia and better opportunities.

Drngsc: You are right Salleh, and it is because Umno is a racist party. And yet you want to laugh at DAP for being racist.

DAP is multiracial and its membership is opened all Malaysians. Will Umno be multiracial too?

Multi Racial: From a party constitution perspective, Umno, MCA and MIC are race-based parties and DAP is a multiracial party. Whether Malaysians subscribe to what each party stands for will eventually show.

In all honesty, it has proven the Umno, MCA and MIC model may have worked in the past but now is losing popularity. The opposition will be happier if Umno, MCA and MIC continue to be in denial and retain their practice, as this will lead them to doom.

What worked in the past does not necessarily mean it will work in the future. In the case of Umno, MCA and MIC, it is obvious in the last two general elections they have lost popularity.

That, in spite of the fact they control the media and government machineries, make use of gerrymandering and also abuse the postal votes to win seats.

DAP on the other hand is making huge progress. What they are doing now is to improve on some of their weaknesses.

No doubt DAP is hugely popular among non-Malays. But they are gaining ground on Malays, especially the urban and educated young Malays.

Hibiscus: The leaders of Umno want the party to restrict its membership to strictly Malays because being racist has put them where they are today.

MCA and MIC leaders are with Umno not because they believe they are speaking for their respective races in BN, but because like Umno leaders, politics to them is a moneymaking venture.

Once you achieve the status of a minister or a deputy minister, you are on your way to easy money, achieving great financial freedom.

There is no reason for Umno, MCA and MIC to change unless BN loses the next GE.

Anonymous 1034721438846003: I blame MCA and MIC for Umno's ethnic-based politics. You guys made Umno strong. Due to Umno's misfortune, they are now taking everybody down the dump.

Mojo Jojo: Imagine the US Republican Party claiming that it is not a multiracial political party, but one that only admits only white people. What would you call that? A racist and white supremacist political party.

In the same manner, what would you call Umno, then?

ACR: The problem with these ethnic parties coming under the BN umbrella is that inevitably the fattest fellow (Umno) would take prime space under the umbrella, and the rest would have no choice but to beg for some 'little' protection from the falling rain.

Vijay47: DAP is the party claiming to be multiracial so it is the one who should prove its stand. Umno on the other hand never said it represented all races and thus has nothing to establish.

DAP are the people who had said they are honest and fair, and again, should prove what they say. Umno makes no such pretensions and again, does not have to prove anything.

And the winner of the Logic and Intelligence Gold Medal goes to ... drum roll, maestro ... yes, the one, the only, Salleh Keruak.

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