Malay-Muslim Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) movement chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured the non-Malays that the movement will not be a threat to them.
Speaking at the Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) national assembly and launch of Impian Nasional 2040 on Saturday (27 August), he said that non-Malays should not be concerned even though GTA is limited to Malay parties, NGOs, and individuals.
“Even though our movement is limited to Malays only, they (non-Malays) don’t have to fear because we have seen that the rule of Malays has given success to non-Malays as well,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.
He explains that the lack of understanding is what caused some to accuse GTA of dividing the people.
“We are not dividing but we have instead successfully united Malay political parties and we will not fight among ourselves during GE15,” he said, adding that GTA will field only one candidate in each constituency.
Commenting on their prime minister candidate, Mahathir said GTA will only name their candidate after securing a victory in the 15th General Election (GE15), as it would be meaningless if they lose.
“This (the prime ministerial candidacy) should not divide us. All those who are part of this movement should only focus on the common goal, that is to establish a government which is good, honourable, which will not abuse power or give place for any parties or individuals,” he said.
The former prime minister continue saying that he is confident that many Malays were disappointed with what is going on in the country and would give support to GTA.
On 4 August, Mahathir announced the establishment of a Malay-Muslim coalition dubbed “Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA)” which is aimed at empowering the Malay community, especially in terms of economy.
The coalition would comprise Pejuang, Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman), Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra). It is also open to participation from Malay non-governmental organisations (NGO), individuals, academics and professional groups.
 movement chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured the non-Malays that the movement will not be a threat to them.){kind=link}