UMNO and PERKASA - what we hear may not be what is spoken

The way I see it, PERKASA was formed mainly due to much perception after March 2008 that UMNO is not looking after the majority Malay interest and more interested in getting back the votes of other races for BN  which has gone to the DAP, PKR and PAS. Perkasa is a legitimate NGO with the aim of protecting majority Malay/Bumi rights as set in the Perlembagaan of Malaysia and is never set up to take the rights of other Malaysians away. Alas, in these times apparently talking about protecting Malay or Bumi rights is now more likely to be considered racist... that would be another story to tell in future. Anyway Perkasa has gone from strength to strength since its inception and now even if Ibrahim Ali decides to leave or retire from Perkasa it will still be strong, maybe even stronger.


It strikes to me as odd that UMNO came out declaring strongly that they they do not support Perkasa:


'Umno does not support Perkasa'
..In this report the UMNO Sec General made the brave statement. I would think such a policy statement should appropriately come from the horse's mouth the President of UMNO himself after a meeting of the UMNO supreme council. So I say there is plenty of political room being maneuvered here.


..of course such statement from UMNO Sec Gen won't get unanswered for very long and Perkasa President came up with guns blazing:


Don't belittle us, Perkasa warns UMNO
..well Ibrahim Ali is one person who does not mince his words.


Lots of rhetorics so far but I believe that Perkasa have a role to play in common cause with UMNO, whether they like it or not UMNO leaders must swallow the bitter fact that Perkasa has both registered and unregistered support of many Malays who are potential voter banks. UMNO need not be fooled by the registered numbers that Perkasa garnered thus far, as the silent support is very, very strong on the ground. 


More importantly UMNO must understand that Barisan Nasional can only be strong if UMNO supported by the majority Malays is strong. A weak UMNO in the vote getting department spells doom to the BN who will go the way of Japan's LDP if they are not sensitive to the feelings of their majority supporters.


I think that UMNO should strike a middle ground with Perkasa, it would be a serious error of judgement if they dissociate themselves completely from this influential NGO. I think PM Najib knows his onions and knows what to do to juggle the delicate balance of the need of the people of Malaysia. He should not however delegate important policy statement to the Sec-Gen, he should cut to the chase and tell it publicly as he sees fit otherwise people will speculate....another political wayang kulit between UMNO and Perkasa?