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Calling Mat Sabu a DAP tool is oldest trick in the book, aide tells Putra politician

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu speaks during Bicara Minda at Dewan Karangkraf in Shah Alam March 8, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon
Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu speaks during Bicara Minda at Dewan Karangkraf in Shah Alam March 8, 2019. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 — A senior aide to Mohamad Sabu dismissed today a Putra politician for rehashing outdated Umno tactics in name-calling the Amanah president a stooge of DAP in a bid to win Malay votes.

Mohd Azhar Mat Dali, who is one of Muhamad’s political secretaries, was responding to Datuk Hamidah Osman’s allegation made during a recent news interview that he described as being racial in nature.

Mohd Azhar also said Pakatan Harapan’s victory in last year’s stunning national election underlined the rejection of racial politics.

“The 14th general election saw Malaysians rejecting racial politics en masse,” he said in a statement.

“The people of Malaysia came out in droves to vote out the politics of race.”

A video recording of the interview was circulated through the text-messaging application WhatsApp over the last few days.

In the video Hamidah, known within political circles as Kak Midah, said the founding of Amanah was a “DAP agenda” aimed at splitting and weakening Malay political power.

Hamidah, a former leader of Umno’s women wing and now a member of the newly-set up Malay-based party Putra, also claimed to be privy to such information because she is part of the “inner political circle”.

It is unclear which faction the reference was for but Hamidah was among those who stood by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when the latter quit Umno to protest the leadership of then president Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Reminding Hamidah of this fact, Mohd Azhar said painting DAP as the bogeyman was a textbook tactic used by Umno to divert Malay attention from the real issues happening in the country.

He said the same tactic is again deployed now as Najib is tried for multiple counts of power abuse and corruption for his alleged role in the 1MDB financial scandal.

“Exposing Umno’s real face is sure to distress many quarters,” he said.

“Hence, there is active effort to intensify diversions to turn attention away by playing up race.”

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