Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cautioned today that the Malay community risks fragmentation if leaders continue to establish their own competing “big umbrella” political platforms.
While acknowledging strong support for a unified Malay front, Mahathir expressed concern that ambitious leaders vying for the premiership are creating separate platforms, potentially fracturing Malay unity.
“As a result, there will be two, three, or even more big umbrellas. The Malays will support and join these umbrellas,” he wrote in a post on X today.
“Just like with party membership, the Malays will become divided. Thus, the big umbrellas will also divide the Malays.”
Mahathir, the former president of UMNO and chairman of Bersatu, emphasized that the Malay community possesses the strength to secure electoral victories and form a government, but only if united under a single platform. “Believe me, if there is more than one big umbrella, the result will be disunity and defeat,” he warned.
However, he clarified that the objective is not to establish an exclusively Malay government. Drawing on historical precedent, he referenced the Alliance Party, formed in 1952 by UMNO, MCA, and MIC, which successfully won Malaysia’s first federal election.
“As with the old Alliance, a coalition government can be formed together with the Chinese, Indians, and other ethnic groups,” he said.
Mahathir’s comments follow his recent establishment of a “Malay secretariat committee” aimed at “restoring Malay power” within the government. He has maintained that this initiative is not politically driven but serves as a platform to address unresolved issues facing the Malay community, which he claims the current government has neglected.
