KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — With such themes as “1Melayu” emanating from the Umno general assembly last week, ally MCA today expressed apprehension over the worsening extremism among the party’s grassroots that it said would impede national reconciliation.

With the Chinese party already bleeding support from the community over a perceived reluctance to confront Umno, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek warned that the racial tone of the debates could undo Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s efforts to unite the country’s multiracial communities.

“We feel strongly that the issues raised by some of the delegates would cause concern among the non-Malays, although we know this is not reflective of the top leadership,” Dr Chua told a press conference after chairing what would be his last central committee meeting before MCA begins party polls next week.

“What was said did not augur well with the 1 Malaysia promoted by the prime minister,” he added.

Dr Chua said as the Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin, Umno should practise discretion in its actions as it is under constant watch by voters who may interpret some of the issues raised during the meeting as official government policies.

“Umno is not like other parties, it is the backbone of BN so it has to be sensitive.

“This is something Umno delegates must look into, whatever that was raised will hinder reconciliation and efforts to win the hearts and minds of all Malaysians,” he said.

But despite the strong pro-Malay rhetoric played out throughout the congress, Dr Chua insisted that Najib has stuck to his progressive and inclusive brand of politics, as seen in his speech.

The MCA president argued that Umno has every right to fight and uphold the interest of the Malays and Bumiputera community, but stressed that despite this, the party cannot abandon its duty to other races.

Still, Dr Chua said, Najib had proven that he would observe the party’s given struggle to protect everyone under its governance.

“Datuk Seri Najib had given me his personal assurance that he is an inclusive prime minister that believes in 1 Malaysia and he had emphasised it in his speech,” Chua said.

In his policy speech, Najib said the Bumiputera Economic Empowerment agenda will continue to be a top priority for his government but maintained that the policy will not be administered at the expense of minority races.

The Umno president went on to say that the economic advancement of the Malay and Bumiputera community, which forms 60 per cent of Malaysia’s population, was necessary to ensure long term stability.

The Umno general assembly that ended on Saturday saw delegates clamouring for the Malay community to be rewarded for its support during Election 2013, which saw the Malay party gain in strength even as its BN allies faltered.

In the May 5 general election, Umno took 88 seats — nine more than in 2008 — from the 133 that BN managed to retain, making it the single most dominant party in Dewan Rakyat.

Among others, party delegates had pressed their leaders to ensure government-linked corporations (GLCs) were more forthcoming with awards, contracts and jobs for the communities, with one suggesting that the firms be made to produce on Malay millionaire each once every two years.

Other calls included more than doubling the Bumiputera share equity quota from the current 30 per cent to 67.9 per cent, to reflect the country’s racial composition.