“UMNO has to accept that the Chinese new village polemic is vital for DAP to please its supporters”

Focus Malaysia:

“UMNO has to accept that the Chinese new village polemic is vital for DAP to please its supporters”

UMNO needs to understand that DAP may brand itself as a multi-cultural party with ample Malay participation in recent times but this is nothing more than for window-dressing purpose.

On this note, veteran journalist and blogger Datuk A. Kadir Jasin reminded the Malay party of DAP’s obligation to protect the hearts and interests of the Chinese who form majority of its supporter/loyalist base.

This is despite in recent years, DAP has begun “to experiment” with wooing the participation of Malays into the party or even fielding several Malay candidates to contest at both the parliamentary and state assembly levels.


“The basis of DAP’s strength are the Chinese. It can be said the entire Chinese electorate voted for the party. The Malay vote count is not that important,” penned the national journalism laureate on his Facebook page. “The feelings and interests of the Malays are secondary. Just a side note.”

Kadir who himself claimed to be “a card-carrying” UMNO member for 32 years before deserting the party in 2015 “to fight UMNO on the platform of Pakatan Harapan (PH)” was commenting on the proposal by Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming for a Chinese New Village to be declared a UNESCO heritage site.

He went on to describe action of the DAP vice-chairman and Teluk Intan MP as “another tactic by the party to test the boundaries of tolerance” on two fronts, namely (i) the tolerance of the Malays; and (ii) tolerance of the coalition parties within the unity government, especially UMNO.

“This has been part and parcel of the party’s modus operandi. It can be said that there is no more Malay-based party that has not colluded and tested by DAP,” observed the former editor-in-chief of mainstream New Straits Times.

“It has previously ‘co-habited’ with Parti Melayu Semangat 46, PAS and Bersatu. Semangat 46 was disbanded with majority of its members returned to UMNO. PAS and Bersatu found that the partnership with DAP was not liked by most Malays. Now it is UMNO’s turn to co-exist with DAP and pass the test.”

Last week, DAP received the proverbial slap on the face when UMNO vehemently rejected Nga’s proposal to nominate new Chinese villages in Selangor as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Somehow aligned to the tune of Perikatan Nasional (PN), UMNO expressed belief that “the implications of this proposal are too great in that it will eventually affect the Malay-Bumiputera position indirectly” although the purpose is to empower the country’s tourism sector.

“When an area is recognised as a world heritage site, then automatically residents who inhabit the area will be considered as indigenous people (orang asal) for all aspects related to education, culture and language will also be certified,” UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki pointed out in a statement.

“This runs afoul of the Federal Constitution which recognises only Bumiputera as the original residents (penduduk asal) with certain privileged rights.” – Feb 15, 2024