In a recent statement, a young Umno leader demanded DAP to apologize to Umno publicly for the so-called “wrongs” that the party had accused Umno of.

Before this, young Umno leaders had said it was difficult to convince the Malays to vote for DAP in the coming state elections.

I may not be a political scientist who looks at voting numbers, but I thought DAP and PKR had done extremely well in the last few elections, especially in GE14 and also quite well in GE15.

In the two past general elections, it was clearly shown that Malaysians comprising of progressive and mature thinking Malays and their brethren citizens of other races voted for DAP.

Malaysians do not need the Umno Malay votes then and also in the coming state elections.

If DAP loses in the state elections like they did in the Melaka and Johor state elections, it would be because Malaysians did not come out to vote firstly due to the pandemic and secondly, due to the voting fatigue or disillusionment.

The clear and undisputed fact is that it is Umno which needs the help of Malaysians comprising of progressive and mature thinking Malays and other races who are already matured and progressive thinking Malaysians.

Only backward and racist thinking Malays voted for Umno and PN, and Umno was the loser in many seats.

So, to call for DAP to apologize may be considered an act of “bodoh-sombong.”

The act of bodoh-sombong is an act of refusing to see the truth because of sheer stupidity and arrogance.

The young leaders must look to veteran leaders like Zahid, Tok Mat and Ahmad Maslan for guidance in order to reinvent Umno to be a party for all Malaysians to be proud of.

Young Umno leaders should be visiting temples, churches, gurdwaras and vernacular schools in order to touch base with the Malaysian society, and not just visiting kedai kopi, surau and masjid.

To the young Umno leaders calling for DAP’s apologies, I might call them to apologize to Malaysians instead for their wrongs in the last 40 years.

It will be a fact that Umno will lose half of its supporters but I say that is fine because these supporters do not know how to be Malaysian and they only know how to sit under a tempurung of safety, being a Malay.

We are in a new era of Malaysia. The Unity Government forged by the wisdom of the DYMM YDP Agong is the way of the future.

Umno must eat humble pie and reset its ways. The old ways are no more. The old ways of threatening Malaysians as pendatang and considering Malaysians of non-Malay origins as third-class citizens are now the voice of PAS and Hadi Awang.

Let Hadi and his primitive PAS leaders shout all they want about Malay supremacy and Islamic dominance without any regard to the dignity of our Rukunegara and the pragmatism of multicultural living.

Let PAS take their own sad states into regressive development back to the stone age of lifestyle of riding horses and kereta lembu with the exception of their leaders buying kafir imported cars.

Ever since the formation of the Unity Government, I have heard excellent speeches by Zahid, Tok Mat and Ahmad Maslan.

These are not defeated leaders. Those who are defeated are the ones who are ‘bungkus’ like Khairy and Annuar.

Shahidan, of course, remains strong in a small tempurung society in a small state. Let him be there-lah! It suits him, and let Perlis be whatever it wants to be.

Everyone in the Unity Government must see a new picture of politics for Malaysia. I know it is difficult for GPS to look beyond Sarawak or GRS in Sabah, but the two nations should look at themselves as major players if the next prime minister is to come from them.

The new Minister of Unity is so far unimpressive, perhaps because he was never in the spirit of Malaysia but always in the spirit of his own nation across the South China Sea.

The Unity Government also depends on all patient and good thinking Malaysians who must wait with wisdom for real change.

The months of teething and feeling the ground of the new government must take a year at least and it has to be after the six state elections.

Umno and the Unity Government as well as good Malaysians are all in uncharted waters. We do not need apologies but we will settle for working towards a common good and working against a common enemy comprising of Hadi, Mahiaddin, Sanusi and the PN.

So, to the young leaders of Umno calling for apologies from the DAP, I might call the Umno leaders to apologize to Malaysians for their wrongs for 40 years. How about that?

It will take all hands on deck for us to chart a new course. Malaysians who cannot wait a year for change will cause the Unity Government to fall.

Umno with bodoh-sombong leaders will also cause our new future to be destroyed just because these leaders have tempurung mindset.

If Malaysia falls to PN, it will all be because of us, not them.

The ball has always been in our court. We only need a simple focus to play the ball in a way that will score the winning goal.

(Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at a local university and his writing reflects his own personal opinion entirely.)