JOHOR BAHRU – The public should not easily believe claims that Islam will be threatened if Pakatan Harapan (PH) wins in the Parliamentary and State Assembly by-elections in Pulai and Simpang Jeram.
Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said such claims were baseless and meant to scare the people.
"Don't believe these claims of threats to religion because I've been in the Cabinet for 19 months now.
"Until today, there have been no efforts to threaten Islam or the Malay race by them (DAP).
"Moreover, in the Cabinet, DAP only has four members. What can they do? We have the majority," he said during a speech in Pekaka, Taman Perling, yesterday.
He added that the understanding between Barisan Nasional (BN) and DAP in the current unity government was to form a government after the 15th General Election (GE15).
"In fact, this understanding is progressing well at the moment in our efforts to bring the country to a more stable position.
"Umno and DAP have no connection because our understanding is to form a government and save the country.
"That's why, during the state election, we used our own logo," he said.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Hasan, who is also the Defence Minister, hoped that the party machinery could plan their preparations to face GE16, expected in 2027.
He said that at that time, Umno could truly assess its strength after suffering a heavy defeat in GE15.
"If you ask me, what issues are we planning for, we should plan for GE16.
"That's what we should plan for, actually," he said.