Umno to send reps to Malay Dignity Congress on Sunday

(FMT) – Umno will be sending representatives to the Malay Dignity Congress, to be held this coming Sunday at the Stadium Malawati in Shah Alam.

The group will be led by Umno’s secretary-general Annuar Musa.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he had only received an invitation for him and Umno’s top leadership to attend the congress yesterday.

“The agreement to attend the congress is based on showing respect to the organisers who will discuss issues related to Malays,” he said, referring to organisers Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).

Zahid said he will not be attending as he would need to attend to other commitments on the same date.

Last Oct 1, PAS announced that its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, will also be attending the congress.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reportedly has already confirmed his attendance and will be delivering the keynote address.

The congress will discuss issues involving education, religion, culture, politics and the economy from a Malay perspective.

Earlier, Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin had questioned the involvement of public universities in the congress, saying it is not the job of such institutions to tackle these issues.

He said the focus of public universities should be to develop and expand knowledge.

“If public universities take on such a role now, it will come as no surprise after this if there are calls for them to organise congresses for Chinese dignity, or Indians or the Bumiputeras in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Then, they will lose their focus on their academic responsibilities, which are more important,” he had said.