N SEMBILAN POLLS | BN and Perikatan Nasional’s partnership in Negeri Sembilan is still intact despite the barrage of criticism that BN leaders have rained on PN election director Sanusi Nor over his recent remarks about race.

BN chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was reported as saying that Sanusi’s remarks were not a cause for the partnership to end.

However, he continued to stress that the Kedah menteri besar must respect Malaysia’s multiracial society and not touch on race, religion, and royalty during the Negeri Sembilan campaign.

Zahid (above) was responding to MIC president SA Vigneswaran urging BN to go solo in future elections, as remarks by PN leaders that touched on race undermined BN’s attempts to win multiracial support.

The Umno president, in his speech today, said Vigneswaran has been satisfied with his defence on the issue.

“The MIC president was in front of me when I spoke. He was satisfied with my explanation. Even the prime minister has taken the same stance (on Sanusi’s remarks),” Zahid was quoted as saying by Free Malaysia Today.

MIC president SA Vigneswaran

On Thursday, Sanusi asserted that Chinese have China, Indians have India, while Malays only have Tanah Melayu.

However, the PAS leader claimed his remarks were distorted.

This came a week after PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang went on a diatribe about non-Malays and DAP, calling them Islamophobic “pendatang” (migrants).