PETALING JAYA : Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh has reaffirmed the wing’s stance on its demand for an apology from DAP for accusations against Umno in the past when the two parties were political rivals.
In his closing speech at the Umno general assembly today, he said:“I actually have a lot to say (on the matter), but I want to inform you that the statement this morning will not be withdrawn at all. It is final.
“Let people say that we are rude but what matters is that we are voicing out what the grassroot members want.”
In demanding an open apology from DAP for past accusations, Akmal said earlier today that the apology was necessary if DAP wanted to win the backing of the Malay voters and Umno supporters in the coming state elections.
Akmal said DAP must also prove that it was not anti-Malay or anti-Islam, two labels with which DAP had been branded in the past.
However, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi played down the call for an apology, saying there was no need to prolong the issue.
Akmal also reminded critics of Umno Youth from within the party that the wing had remained loyal to Umno despite its worst performance in a general election last November.
“The young men in front of me today have remained with Umno even when the party lost its dignity. We lost badly and others chose to run elsewhere. But those with me here remain loyal to Umno,” he said.
Umno won only 26 parliamentary seats in the election, its lowest-ever showing in the Dewan Rakyat.
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