Khairy had called Ibrahim “jaguh kampung” after the Umno Youth chief was slammed for defending MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong against the Perkasa chief in a row over scholarships for Bumiputeras.
Wee had last week told a media conference that the government should not phase out Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships, saying that the status quo should remain for both the PSD and Mara scholarships.
He had said that this was because the PSD was the only avenue for non-Bumiputera top scorers to go overseas while Mara was for the Bumiputeras.
Ibrahim, however, subsequently accused Wee of being “insolent” and claimed he had challenged Malay rights when he questioned if Mara scholarships should be abolished together with the PSD’s.
“I am proud to be called jaguh kampung... At least I’m close to the people, meaning I’m the real deal.
“Because of that I can appreciate my forefathers’ fight and care so much for my race and understand history,” Ibrahim said in response to Khairy’s statement yesterday that he (Ibrahim) was like a “jaguh kampung” for demanding that the Rembau MP step down.
“I am a jaguh kampung who is brave like a bull... Anything that crosses my path, I will fight it to the end,” said the independent MP for Pasir Mas.
Ibrahim claimed that Malays could only look to Mara to help raise their standard of living.
“Village folk can only place hope in Mara... That’s why I am proud to be called a jaguh kampung,” he said.
Yesterday, Khairy likened Ibrahim to a “village champion politician” who had no right to demand that he, the Rembau MP, quit his post for defending Wee.
Khairy, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth chief, said Ibrahim was not qualified to call for his resignation as he was not a voter in the Rembau constituency or even an Umno member.
Ibrahim had said that Khairy should step down as MP for “sacrificing his race’s dignity” to defend the MCA Youth chief for allegedly questioning the granting of scholarships to Malays through Mara.
Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali defended Ibrahim, saying the Perkasa president was a village champion who was not only respected locally but known internationally as well.
“As a jaguh kampung, he is not only at the forefront of championing domestic issues but international ones, such as when he wrote a letter to Pope Benedict on the ‘Allah’ issue and when Australian MPs tried to interfere in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s sodomy case,” he said.
“We are not disappointed with Khairy’s statement. In fact, we are proud of what Ibrahim has done to further Malay issues.
“More and more Malays, particularly Umno members, are joining Perkasa because of people like Khairy who give the impression that Umno no longer fights for Malay rights,” he said.
Syed Hassan added that Perkasa will launch its Rembau branch next month.
