KUALA LUMPUR: Uniting the community and defending Malay interests does not mean oppressing other races, says Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, citing Barisan Nasional as proof that diverse parties can co-exist while preserving their distinct identities.
“Barisan Nasional is living proof of this. MCA has never lost its Chinese identity, nor has MIC lost its Indian identity, and the same goes for PBRS. Umno upholds its principles without infringing on others,” he said during his policy speech at the Umno Youth general assembly.
He called on delegates to set aside past grievances with other parties, including PAS, to focus on broader unity. “Past issues may have hurt us, but the overarching goal is uniting the ummah (community).
“We should look beyond the past and consider the impact of remaining divided,” he said.
He dismissed allegations that Umno was being “politically flirtatious” with other parties.
“We do not have to be like PAS, and PAS too can remain as PAS. Mature unity allows us to manage differences with wisdom,” he said, adding that the youth wing would continue to defend unity efforts.
He added that the drive to unite the ummah stems from Umno’s core principles rather than recent state election dynamics.
Turning to the economy, Dr Muhamad Akmal called for the reinstatement of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), noting that past collections exceeded RM44.3bil – far surpassing Sales and Service Tax (SST) revenues.
“The Prime Minister previously ruled out returning to GST, despite economists advocating for a broader tax base. Now that the government is preparing to review a hybrid tax system, a door once firmly shut is reopening,” he noted.
In August, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the federal government was open to studying whether certain GST features could be incorporated into SST, while stressing that SST would remain the basis of the tax system.
GST was introduced on April 1, 2015, but abolished and zero-rated on June 1, 2018. It was replaced by SST on Sept 1, 2018.
