KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — Perkasa’s foray into the UK and Europe was not funded by the government, the Malay rights group’s president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said today.
Ibrahim, who will be opening a “United Kingdom-Europe” branch office in London tomorrow, was said to have angrily denied insinuations that public money will be used for the launch.
“Perkasa has received not even a single cent of government fund for the launch and formation of Perkasa UK and Europe,” he was quoted saying by news portal Malaysiakini.
The Malay group’s bid to spread its wings abroad has been mired in controversy, with questions being asked over the source of its funds for the London wing launch.
Perkasa however did not respond to The Malay Mail Online’s request when contacted over the past few days.
On Tuesday, Perkasa’s secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali claimed that the group now has over 550,000 members worldwide, saying that their office receives at least 250 applications daily from those interested to join their cause.
Syed Hassan told The Malay Mail Online that Ibrahim would be accompanied by a 30-man delegation.
“So many Malays over there are fed up with political parties from both sides, they want a group (that) is on the fence which can uphold their rights, issues and concerns,” he said.
The Star daily also reported Ibrahim as saying on Tuesday that 275 members have already registered with the branch which will be located at Southwick Street, Paddington in London.
Ibrahim also maintained that the group was not “racist”, but merely do not want to see the “natives struggling hard for economic survival in their homeland”, The Star reported.
Perkasa began life in 2008 as a one-man pressure group on Malay rights but later grew in numbers and influence after its cause found traction with a largely-Umno audience.
The ubiquity of Umno members among its ranks also led to the perception that the group was an indirect outlet for the more conservative elements of the party.
