Asyraf Wajdi says only Zahid can decide whether he should step down as Mara chairman

Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, chairman of Mara and Umno secretary-general, stated that only Deputy Prime Minister and Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi can decide his resignation.

Asyraf emphasized that he would comply with Zahid's directive but not due to pressure from PKR's youth wing, Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK), or other parties.

Asyraf underlined his commitment to protecting Mara, an institution supporting Malays and Bumiputeras, ensuring its educational and entrepreneurial agendas are preserved.

He dismissed calls for his resignation in connection with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Lembaga Tabung Haji, asserting his irrelevance to the inquiry findings.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 — Mara chairman Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki today said only Deputy Prime Minister and Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi could decide whether he should step down from the position.

Asyraf, who is also Umno secretary-general, said he would comply if Zahid asked him to resign, but stressed that he would not do so due to pressure from PKR’s youth wing Angkatan Muda Keadilan (AMK) or the party.

“I was appointed by the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister. I will simply follow his instructions.

“If the Rural and Regional Development Minister asks me to step down, I will step down — but not because of pressure from AMK or Parti Keadilan,” he told reporters during a special press conference ahead of the Umno General Assembly at Menara Dato Onn here.

Asyraf said his priority was to safeguard Mara, which he described as an institution entrusted with the interests of Malays and Bumiputeras and established under Umno’s leadership.

“First and foremost, I am safeguarding the party’s trust and mandate — the party’s mandate to protect Mara, which was born from the same womb of Umno itself.

“This is an institution for the Malays and Bumiputeras, and over the past three years, I have laid important foundations to ensure that the educational and Malay entrepreneurship agendas are preserved and strengthened,” he said.

Asyraf said Mara’s reputation and role as a Malay and Bumiputera institution must be protected from efforts to undermine it.

“What is most important is that this institution continues to be protected. There must not be efforts to tear down its reputation, nor should there be external elements deliberately seeking to see this Malay institution fall,” he said.

He said he would continue defending Mara if there were attempts to undermine the institution.

“This is not about Asyraf Wajdi. This is about Mara as an institution entrusted with the interests of the Malays, which was entrusted to Umno’s leadership when Mara was established in 1964 at the Umno General Assembly.

“So, I believe the only person who is rightfully in a position to decide whether I should step down or not is the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Rural and Regional Development Minister and oversees Mara as an agency under the ministry,” he said.

On calls for him to resign over the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Lembaga Tabung Haji, Asyraf said the matter was irrelevant as his name was not mentioned in the inquiry.

“The Tabung Haji RCI is not relevant because my name was not mentioned in the Tabung Haji RCI, nor have I ever been linked to issues involving Tabung Haji and so on.

“This is merely a matter of perception being played up by those who want to undermine the reputation and image of this institution,” he said.

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马拉主席兼巫统秘书长拿督阿斯拉夫瓦吉迪杜苏基表示，只有副首相兼乡郊及区域发展部长拿督斯里艾哈迈德扎希德哈米迪才能决定辞职。

阿什拉夫强调，他将服从扎希德的指示，但这并非出于人民公正党青年团（AMK）或其他政党的压力。

阿斯拉夫强调了他保护玛拉学院（一个支持马来人和土著的机构）的决心，确保其教育和创业议程得到维护。

他驳斥了因皇家朝圣基金局调查委员会而要求他辞职的呼声，并声称他与调查结果无关。

吉隆坡，9月3日——Mara主席拿督阿西拉夫瓦吉迪杜苏基今天表示，只有副首相兼乡郊及区域发展部长拿督斯里艾哈迈德扎希德哈米迪才能决定他是否应该辞去职务。

巫统秘书长阿斯拉夫表示，如果扎希要求他辞职，他会服从，但他强调，他不会因为来自人民公正党青年团（AMK）或党的压力而辞职。

“我是由副总理兼农村和区域发展部长任命的。我将服从他的指示。”

“如果乡村及区域发展部长要求我辞职，我会辞职——但这并非因为来自AMK或公正党的压力，”他在巫统大会召开前于此地达托翁大厦举行的特别新闻发布会上告诉记者。

阿什拉夫表示，他的首要任务是保护玛拉，他称玛拉是一个受托维护马来人和土著利益的机构，是在巫统的领导下建立的。

“首先，我要维护党的信任和授权——党保护玛拉的授权，玛拉本身也是从巫统的子宫里诞生的。

“这是一所为马来人和土著人服务的机构，在过去的三年里，我奠定了重要的基础，以确保教育和马来创业议程得到维护和加强，”他说。

阿什拉夫表示，必须保护玛拉作为马来人和土著机构的声誉和作用，使其免受任何破坏行为的侵害。

“最重要的是要继续保护这个机构。绝不能有人试图破坏它的声誉，也不应该有外部势力蓄意想让这个马来机构垮台，”他说。

他说，如果有人试图破坏马拉的机构，他将继续捍卫马拉。

“这与阿斯拉夫·瓦吉迪无关。这关乎玛拉作为一个受托维护马来人利益的机构，该机构在1964年巫统大会上成立时，就被委托给了巫统的领导层。

“因此，我认为唯一有资格决定我是否应该辞职的人是副总理，他同时也是农村和区域发展部长，负责监管马拉这个隶属于该部的机构，”他说。

针对因皇家朝圣基金局调查委员会（RCI）而要求他辞职的呼声，阿什拉夫表示此事无关紧要，因为他的名字并未在调查中被提及。

“Tabung Haji RCI 与我无关，因为我的名字没有出现在 Tabung Haji RCI 中，我也从未与 Tabung Haji 相关的问题等有任何联系。

他说：“这仅仅是有人为了破坏该机构的声誉和形象而夸大其词罢了。”

阿什拉夫·瓦吉迪表示，巫统的未来方向和团结政府关系是即将召开的大会的关键议题之一。

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