9/11/2010

MAHATHIR AND PERKASA


Mahathir the plumber and Perkasa the client.
The end result .........


The stage is set for a battle of wills in Umno after Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared his support yesterday for Perkasa as a crutch for what he said was a weak Umno.
His remarks to the New Straits Times published today come even as Umno began this week to distance itself from the Malay rights group.
Dr Mahathir is Perkasa’s patron, which is seen as representing the views of Umno’s conservative faction who are against Najib’s proposed economic reforms which they claim will erode Malay control of the economy. “Perkasa members are Umno supporters. It would not help Umno’s cause to turn them away,” Dr Mahathir told the New Straits Times yesterday.
He told the Umno-controlled newspaper that the party could not afford to alienate itself from Malay groups such as Perkasa, which were formed because they believed Umno was not doing enough to protect Malay interests.