Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid opens Kepong Umno delegates' meeting, August 23, 2015. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Malaysia is one of the few countries free from the threat of the Jews because of Umno’s leadership, a party division chief said today.

Kepong Umno division chief Datuk Rizuan Abdul Hamid said Malaysia has been spared the same fate of other countries in the region, which he said have been infiltrated by the Jews.

“Umno is one of the few governments that fight the Jews… other Asian countries have already been defeated by the Jews; Singapore is done, Thailand is done, Phillipines is done, Indonesia is almost done for, but Malaysia has been protected by Datuk Seri Najib (Razak),” he said during the launching of the Kepong Umno delegates meeting today.

He added that Najib’s steadfast opposition to Jewish influence led to the RM2.6 billion reward that was donated from the Middle East into the prime minister’s accounts.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, who was also present, added that while he did not have a problem sharing Malaysia with other races, he was adamant that the Malays stay ahead in politics.

“Recognition was given to all races to build this country but the political power must be held by the Malays.

“It’s okay, we share the cake, we’re multiracial, no problem at all. But we want political power,” he said.

He drew an example from a country, which he refused to name, that allowed a member of a minority race to be the nation’s leader, and said he did not want that to happen in Malaysia.

“I don’t think we want that to happen in Malaysia. Firstly because majority of the people here are Malays, and Malays must be the one to lead the government, propped up by our other friends,” he said.

He also said that when Malaysia was first formed, Malay leaders allowed non-Malays to become citizens on condition that the latter accepted Islam as the federal religion, Malay as the national language and the sovereignty of the Malay rulers.

Malaysia has been grappling with racial and religious tensions in recent years, with a perceived rise in religious conservatism that is typically tied to racial identity.

Communal politics were blamed for the May 13, 1969 racial riots that reportedly left hundreds of Malaysians dead in the deadly clashes following the general election of the year.

Malays make up just 13.4 per cent of the Singaporean population that is dominated by the ethnic Chinese, compared to Malaysia where they make up 50.1 per cent of the population.