Hadi lambasts Malays, says they're 'in deep sleep'

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

PETALING JAYA: Malays are in deep sleep and living in ignorance despite being in their own land, says PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

He said that he agreed with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's take that the Malays need to raise themselves, which the Prime Minister had declared at the Malay Dignity Congress on Oct 6.

"I listened to Dr Mahathir's message carefully and it was different from those who were waiting for him to attack other races as competitors in our multiracial society.

"Suddenly, in his speech, he pointed out the mistakes of his own race as the main reasons for them being left behind and sidelined by others.

"Malays being a majority in their own land is of no use to them, especially when they do not appreciate what God has given them in this land of opportunity," said Hadi said in his message published on Oct 7 on a PAS online bulletin board.

At the Malay Dignity Congress, Dr Mahathir said that Malays were backward economically because they do not want to help themselves.

Hadi said that he had attended both the Ummah Unity Gathering (organised by Umno and PAS on Sept 14) and the Malay Dignity Congress on Oct 6 to merely stress the need for Malay unity based on Islam.

While the Ummah Unity Gathering was to ink a joint Umno-PAS charter, the Malay Dignity Congress Malay dignity event brought together Malay leaders from both sides of the political divide.

The Marang MP further said that being a majority is of no use if there is no unity.