That year, at the UMNO General Assembly, several delegates criticised other members of the government coalition for criticising the social contract and "ketuanan Melayu". One stated that "If they question our rights, then we should question theirs. So far we have not heard the Malays questioning their right to citizenship when they came in droves from other countries." Others argued that the Bumiputra communities continued to lag behind the rest of the country economically, and called for stronger measures in line with the social contract. One delegate, Hashim Suboh, made headlines when he asked Hishammuddin, who had brandished the "kris" again, "Datuk Hisham has unsheathed his "keris", waved his "keris", kissed his "keris". We want to ask Datuk Hisham when is he going to use it?" Hashim said that "force must be used against those who refused to abide by the social contract", provoking criticism from the DAP, which accused him of sedition.