KUALA LUMPUR: There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to political cooperation, says Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
He said all this depends on the unique strategies employed across the various political districts where Umno contests.
Mohamad, fondly known as Tok Mat, said recent victories at the Johor and Negri Sembilan polls revealed several crucial impetus.
This includes how strong Malay-Islamic political representation is desired by the Malays.
“How this is translated depends on Umno.
"The Malays don’t care about our political formulas. For them, there is no need to be in coalitions,” he said at the joint opening of the Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri annual general assembly here on Wednesday (Sept 9).
Mohamad said what the Malays want is a dominant and commanding political voice for the Malays and Muslims.
“What matters is that there are no contradictions when it comes to Malay interests,” he said.
He also said the cohesion of the Malay vote shows that identity politics will continue dominating Malaysia’s political landscape.
“This phenomenon is not only applicable along the Malay corridors. While identity politics cannot be separated from the Malays, the same is applicable for non-Malay voters.
“Identity politics is something that we cannot put aside,” he said.
Mohamad added that Malay interests will always be a dominant point in Malay politics.
“Leadership based on excellent performance, outstanding policies and service comes second in the minds of Malay voters.
“Anything related to the Malays will continue being a crucial domain.
“If we do not manage this well, we will be seen as sidelining the interests of Malay and Islam,” he said.
Referencing how Umno attempted to explain its cooperation with DAP in the federal unity government, Mohamad said there was no argument to convince the majority of Malay constituents to accept Umno and DAP being together.
“However, the Unity Government is not something that has never done good.
“There are many successfully implemented policies and programmes that have expanded and grown the national economy even as the country faced economic uncertainty amidst the global geopolitical crisis,” he said.
He also said this could be seen through aid distribution, commitment towards fighting corruption and leakages as well as efforts to spur innovation across various sectors.
“Umno has supported all of this collectively, as part of the government. Instead, this is not seen as being Malay.
“As long as Umno is seen to be working with DAP, it would reflect that the unity government is not representing the Malays and their interests,” he said.
