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Shahrir: Address Malay issues first |
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Monday, 31 March 2008 11:16 |
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(NST) - Umno's image as the steward of Malay interest has been tarnished and it needs immediate repair, said Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad.
He said the party should stop debating internal party affairs, such as whether or not to reduce the number of nominations required to contest the presidency.
"It is more urgent and important to repair the damaged trust.
"It is not about the post or the elections. Right now Umno has to understand the priorities of the Malays and work accordingly."
Shahrir, whose political career has spanned more than 30 years, said when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad set the 30 per cent quota of party divisions to nominate a candidate for the presidency, the Johor Baru Division was among the seven divisions which protested.
"We are proud to say that Johor Baru Umno has been consistent in its stand against the quota. I say this not because of my position now but because we stand by our statement."
However, Shahrir said, amending the quota regulation takes time, therefore the most practical solution would be to address the issues with the Malays.
Shahrir, an Umno supreme council member, said this after launching the Kampung Bakar Batu Fishermen's Club annual general meeting at Dewan Raya Kampung Bakar Batu yesterday.
On the call to boycott Dutch products over Fitna, an anti-Islam film by a Dutch politician, Shahrir said it was up to the consumers to express their views by exercising their rights.
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The Blogs 
After 50 years of proclamations of being protector of the Malay race and Malay interest.
After 50 years of Malay Dominance.
After 27 years of NEP and Bumuputraism,
Sharir is still taking about unfulfilled Malay issues.
Come on Sharir, UMNO has failed its own people miserably. Catch the bulls by the horns and admit to UMNO's 50 years of failures, propelled by greed and arrogance.