Umno, PPBM and PAS are rivals, not enemies, says Annuar
PETALING JAYA: Former Barisan Nasional secretary-general Annuar Musa says Umno, PPBM and PAS are not enemies, although some quarters are trying to sow enmity among the three parties.
Annuar said the three parties were rivals as they were all Malay parties that carried the same goals and struggles, adding that their enemies were those that had different ideologies.
He said a certain “call” made by someone was simply aimed at hiding the individual’s actual intention of working with “the real enemy”.
“Parties that have different ideologies, and ambitions that obliterate what the other party fights for, can be considered enemies.
“Umno, PAS and PPBM … they’re not enemies but they’re competitors or rivals. There are efforts to depict the parties as enemies, although they’re not.
“When vengeance runs deep, friends are seen as enemies and enemies are seen as friends. That’s Machiavellian politics of ‘the ends justify the means’. Islamic politics are not so. Islamic politics hold to the truth,” he said in a Facebook post today.
Annuar’s remarks come after Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday claimed that the party was facing threats by certain groups that are trying to take control of it by proxy.
“Some enemies are obvious, while others are in cloaks and continuously go after the party with their harsh criticisms. They know that Umno, being the largest Malay party, is the only defender of the race and its religion,” Zahid said in a Facebook post.
After realising that Umno cannot be destroyed, he said, certain groups were now trying to control the party in the name of uniting the ummah (Malay-Muslim community) by using “brokers”.
Zahid may have been referring to a faction of leaders in Umno who have been labelled as being in the “ministers cluster”. This comprises Umno ministers in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Cabinet.
Annuar is the federal territories minister.
