SHAH ALAM, June 23 — Perkasa today denied that it gets funding from the Barisan Nasional government, following questions over the financing for its new branch in London.
“I am willing to swear we have not received even a single cent from the government.... everything comes from our members,” Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters after attending a Perkasa rally in front of the Istana Kayangan here.
“Those who say we are being funded by the government, they are one-eyed ‘dajjals’ (anti-Christ) and I hope that they are cursed by Allah.
“Our gathering here, even the payment for buses to ferry people here is done by gathering our own money, resources... we don’t even have food here (for rally participants),” he said, just as a Perkasa member started distributing parcels of food to those at the rally.
The Malay group’s bid to spread its wings abroad has been mired in controversy, with questions being asked over the source of its funding for the London wing launch.
Earlier this month, 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.
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.
Perkasa regularly invites controversy with its outspokenness on matters of race and religion.
