KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — The Selangor chapter of Malay rights group Perkasa urged Muslim politicians today to set aside their differences and unite, saying the ongoing impasse over the state mentri besar’s post is a message from Allah telling them to do so.

The group said the crisis can be regarded as a stepping stone for all Muslim politicians to work together to ensure Islam, the Malay race, and their land will stay protected in the future.

“We are confident, the majority of Muslims in this state are fed up with the political divide among Malays,” Selangor Perkasa chief Abu Bakar Yahya said in a statement.

“We have witnessed the result of how Islam and its adherents are easily insulted, condemned and mocked by irresponsible parties.”

Abu Bakar claimed that the constant disrespect suffered by Islam and Muslims here is the result of Muslim leaders refusing to accept a call of unity from other Muslims who subscribe to different political ideologies.

He cited the Selangor legislative assembly as an example, noting that even with PAS’s 15 assemblymen and Umno’s 12, Muslim cooperation among the lawmakers has been lacking.

“If this goes on, we are worried Muslims will continue to quarrel over their differing political ideologies, causing the rift to widen,” he said.

“In the end, this situation will certainly be detrimental towards the future of Muslims.”

Last week, Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) urged PAS to leave Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and join forces with Umno in order to benefit the Muslim community.

According to the group, Umno and PAS are both the two biggest parties representing the community, and therefore must work together to gain support from Muslims instead of attempting to win over non-Muslims whom it said will always reject their agenda.

PR is on the verge of a meltdown over the mentri besar imbroglio, with PAS’s top leadership putting their weight behind Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim despite having reportedly agreed to PKR’s proposal to replace him with Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in an earlier PR presidential council meeting.

PKR’s share of the 56 seat Selangor state assembly drops to 13 from 14. Its allies DAP and PAS have 15 seats each while Umno, the opposition in the state, has 12.