TANJONG KARANG: DAP wants to see Umno become a strong party again and serve as a political anchor for the nation, says an Umno supreme council member.
Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad said this was voiced by DAP national organising secretary Steven Sim in front of cabinet members during a recent cabinet meeting.
"He (Sim) said that Umno needs to be strong. They (DAP) want to rely on Umno because they can only win between 40 to 43 seats and not more than that.
"He also mentioned that the Chinese community does not have many children and it is unlikely that they will demand to become the prime minister.
"If Umno is not strong, DAP cannot rely on Umno. He gave me permission to use this time as I see fit to strengthen Umno," he said during the Tanjong Karang Umno division meeting at Dewan Dato Hormat, here, today.
Present were Tanjong Karang Umno division chief Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Razak and Kuala Selangor Umno division chief Datuk Jahaya Ibrahim.
Abdul Rahman, who is also the Deputy Minister of Human Resources, said Sim 'directed' him to use the available time to strengthen Umno nationwide.
"He told me, 'Datuk, go to the East Coast, north, and south to help Umno become stronger.'
"From his facial expression, I saw his sincerity," he said.
Abdul Rahman also defended DAP and said the perception that the party was chauvinistic and socialist was completely baseless.
"The party is not as we previously thought. (Housing and Local Government Minister) Nga Kor Ming once said he did not expect Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to be hardworking, possess high ideals, and they (DAP) are very happy to work with him.
"This is what I heard. Sim is undoubtedly someone close to me and always with me.
"All this while, we thought of DAP as chauvinists, socialists, and so on. But my view is not too much in that direction because our partners (MCA and MIC) are actually one of our main pillars," he said.