DPM: Correct misconception of Islam, Malays
Deputy Prime Minister the KUALA LUMPUR: Graduates must be responsible in correcting the people’s misconceptions of Islam and Malays, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Zahid said Umno members, for example, had always been misunderstood as being “ultra Malays” or “terrorists” for championing Malay and Muslim rights.
“If this were the case, whose responsibility is it to correct this misconception? It is ours. All of you in this hall must be on the frontline. being greeted by participants at the National Graduate Leadership Conference 4.0 at Pic by Abdullah Yusof
“We cannot expect other people to set the record straight,” he told some 300 university students at the National Graduate Leadership Conference 4.0 here yesterday.
The Umno vice-president said while he was not forcing students to become members, they should open their eyes to the issues faced by Malays and Muslims in the country.
“When Malays and Muslims are being put in such a position, we must do something about it.
“Umno is always fair towards other religions and ethnic groups. As the backbone of Barisan Nasional, that is Umno. It never sidelines others.”
Zahid reminded university students that they were just as qualified and capable as those who studied overseas.
He said the perception that local graduates were inferior must be corrected as the country’s quality of education was at a par with that of other countries.
“Just because you didn’t have the opportunity to study overseas does not mean that the quality of education here is bad. I studied locally throughout Year One until my doctorate degree.
“Maybe we do not get as much exposure as those studying overseas, but that does not mean that we don’t receive quality education.”
More than 300 university students took part in the four-day conference, organised in conjunction with the 2016 Umno General Assembly.
Present was Umno education bureau chairman Tan Sri Ibrahim Shah Abu Shah.