KUALA SELANGOR: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has appealed to Malay voters to sign the “Malay Proclamation”, his latest initiative to unite the community.
Mahathir expressed hope that Malay voters would sign the document, which lists 12 key problems faced by Malays, to show that they were aware of the issues they faced.
“I also hope that Malay leaders from other parties will sign the proclamation,” he said at a Hari Raya open house organised by Jeram assemblyman Shaid Rosli of Pejuang, the party founded by Mahathir, which he later left.
Mahathir said he came up with the proclamation, in which poverty among the Malay community is listed as a key problem, to “remind the Malay people of the problems they are facing”.
Earlier this month, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and several leaders of the party also signed the document to signify their support for Mahathir’s call for the Malays to unite and save the community.
Bersatu’s deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu, information chief Razali Idris and Supreme Council member Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid had also signed the document in their personal capacities.
The Kedah chapter of Pejuang became the latest to sign the proclamation, while former PKR vice-president Zuraida Kamaruddin had also met Mahathir to discuss the initiative.
When asked how many have signed the document, Marzuki Yahya, chairman of the “Malay Proclamation” secretariat, said “thousands”.
Mahathir had said the proclamation aimed to unite Malays across the political divide, warning that the community would “lose everything” if those championing Malay interests were not united.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had played down the proclamation, saying Mahathir was the “latest liability” in Malaysia’s political landscape.