UMNO 3 talak BERSATU

FMT:

Umno tells its MPs to quit posts

Umno president Ahmad Zahidi Hamidi has reportedly told all elected representatives to quit their government posts by the end of this month.

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has told its MPs to step down from their posts in government and government agencies by the end of this month, in a bid to push for a general election to be held as soon as possible.

Two division leaders told FMT that party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi issued the directive at a meeting with Umno division leaders at its headquarters here this morning.

A division leader who attended the meeting said Zahid told them Umno had no choice as the Perikatan Nasional government had failed to recognise that the people wanted a change and reforms to the administration.

“Yes, it is true. It was decided at the meeting just now,” said the leader, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

He was responding to a report by Suara TV which quoted Zahid as telling Umno MPs to quit the PN government by the end of the month.

Another division leader outside the Klang Valley also confirmed the directive.

According to the portal, Zahid had also criticised Putrajaya’s failure to “rectify” the Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim’s case. Adib, a fireman, died from injuries following a riot in Subang Jaya a little over two years ago.

In Sept 2019, the Coroner’s Court established that he died after he was assaulted by two or three unidentified people during the riot.

Zahid was also reported to have said that Umno decided to withdraw its support for PN after the government failed to take action against a minister who is alleged to have had unnatural sex.

Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said any decision on Umno MPs to quit the PN government before February would be finalised during the party’s supreme council meeting tomorrow.

Ahmad, who is also the newly-appointed Barisan Nasional secretary-general, however refused to confirm if Zahid had issued such a directive at the meeting.

“It is just a report, we will bring the matter to the supreme council meeting tomorrow,” he told reporters after the meeting with Umno’s 191 divisions today.

The quit directive comes a day after Umno’s Machang MP Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub resigned as chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), after just eight months in the job.

It also comes as ties between Umno and PPBM reached breaking point, with leaders from the former openly training their guns on PN over the weekend. Several prominent Umno leaders have called on their party to withdraw its support for the government.

Meanwhile, Ahmad said Annuar Musa had merely been “replaced” as the BN secretary-general and not “fired”.

Annuar has reportedly also been removed as Umno’s representative in the Muafakat Nasional secretariat.

Annuar, who is seen to be friendly with Perikatan Nasional, the pact between PAS and PPBM, has been under fire in recent days.

Yesterday, the Ketereh MP said he was willing to be removed in order to maintain the cooperation among Malay parties and the PN government.

While Umno has turned its guns on PPBM, Ahmad also said the party was steadfast in its decision not to work with DAP.

Asked if Umno would work with other parties, he said there was no discussion about working with PKR and Amanah during the meeting.

“For now, we want to strengthen our ties with PAS and GPS,” he said.

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FMT:

I’ll heed Umno’s call, says Khairy on quitting Cabinet

Khairy Jamaluddin says there are differing views in Umno right now but he will abide by the decision of the Supreme Council.

KUALA LUMPUR: Khairy Jamaluddin says he will abide by any decision made by the Umno Supreme Council on the position of the party in the current Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, including quitting all Cabinet posts.

The science, technology and innovation minister said he will quit the Cabinet if instructed to do so.

“If the Supreme Council decides and instructs for Umno members to withdraw (from the Cabinet), then as an Umno member I am bound by that decision,” the former Umno Youth chief said at a press conference today.

The party’s highest decision-making body will meet on Wednesday to discuss its cooperation with PPBM in the PN government.

Sources had earlier revealed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told all of the party’s MPs to resign from their posts in the government and government-linked companies (GLCs) by the end of the month.

He allegedly made the announcement in a meeting with all Umno division leaders at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) today, in order for the next general election (GE15) to be held as soon as possible.

“There are differing views in Umno right now, just as with any other party, but we stand guided by the decision of the Supreme Council.

“At the end of the day we are a political party and we have to have some form of discipline,” Khairy said.

He added that he stood by the Supreme Council’s decision against working with DAP and PKR, while any future cooperation with PPBM still needs to be discussed within the party.

Commenting on Annuar Musa being removed as Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general earlier today, Khairy said the move was at the sole discretion of the coalition’s chairman, Zahid.

“Of course it was within his rights to change the secretary-general. Whether it was fair or not is a political question that will be answered in the next couple of days,” he said.