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Zaid: I will not join new party
Published:  Aug 9, 2016 4:30 PM
Updated: 10:20 AM

Former minister Zaid Ibrahim said he will not join newly-registered Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), which is to be headed by former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, as it looks too much like Umno.

According to him, the Malays are progressive, liberal and intelligent, and possess high morals and confidence.

Therefore, he said there is no need to emulate Umno in reminding the Malays on the need to protect their rights or to be unified.

“They need to be reminded that the world is expansive.

“The Malays don’t need Umno, it is Umno which needs the Malays. The same applies for the new party,” he said in a series of Twitter postings this afternoon.

Speaking further to Malaysiakini on the matter, he said that if Bersatu insists on following in Umno's footsteps, it may ultimately fall into the same pitfalls as the Malay ruling party.

"How progressive and forward-looking can one be when we need to talk of unity and protecting our rights all the time? Who is the enemy?" he said.

While he conceded that it is not necessarily bad to have a party based on race, he believes Bersatu looks too much like Umno for his liking.

"Its not necessarily bad to have a race-based party like Pribumi. But the concern is that the message will be no different from Umno," said Zaid.

He warned that the needs of the Malays are just the same as that of other races and they should not be made to think that they are any different.

"What Malays need is the same as other races – empowerment, good education, good values.

"So if we have a separate party just for the Bumiputera, we are preparing them for something different. That's what Umno is good at," he said.

He agreed that Bersatu may become another Umno if they let the racial agenda override the agenda for reform.

The former law minister was commenting on Muhyiddin's application to register the party with the Registrar of Societies (ROS) in Putrajaya earlier today.

The new party would be exclusive to the bumiputera, while other races can join as associate members

Zaid has been an ardent supporter of the 'Save Malaysia' movement to topple Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and said as recently as last month that a Malay/Bumiputera party "somewhat similar to Umno" is a good development for the opposition.

 

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