Exodus a bitter pill for party to swallow, says Nazri
KUALA LUMPUR: The exodus of Umno representatives is a bitter pill to swallow, but something the party leadership will have to face, says Barisan Nasional secretarygeneral Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.
Nazri said the party’s predicament was understandable, noting that those who had left and joined Pakatan Harapan were not used to being in the opposition.
He also took a swipe at the big names who left, such as Jeli member of parliament Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamad and Bagan Serai MP Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali, whom he said were probably “mentally weak” to continue as opposition representatives, and instead, opted to take a shortcut to return to the government fold.
“They may have their reasons for leaving. But they are all my friends, and we have to admit that times are bad. Everybody wants to find a way out.
“Maybe when things get better, they will return.
“Umno belongs to the Malays and it is their inherent right to join once more.
“The doors should never be closed for those who want to return,” he told the New Straits Times.
The Padang Renggas MP said those who had yet to leave Umno were probably weighing their options and the offers laid out by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Nazri claimed that previously, when Umno representatives went to meet the Parti Pribumi Bersatu chairman to be on friendly terms with the government, Dr Mahathir had imposed conditions on the leadership, which included Umno’s deregistration.
This, he said, was where the party leadership drew the line.
Nazri said he would not be leaving Umno as it would be akin to betrayal of the grassroots and supporters, saying where he is today was because of them.
“It is absolutely unfair to them and I will continue fighting for Umno. This (the mass exodus of leaders) is something we just have to go through until we can find ways to be part of the government once more.
“We cannot and will not dissolve the party simply because people are leaving.
“We have to think about our grassroots, which are very solid.
“We owe it to them to not simply abandon them. Umno is only truly in trouble if there is a mass exodus of ordinary members.
“We will wait until the time comes… the time could even be when the prime minister passes the baton to (PKR president Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim).”
Noting that Anwar had never promised anything to Umno, Nazri expressed hope that the former would not push for the deregistration of Umno.
“He promised us nothing, but after rejecting Dr Mahathir’s conditions, we have no choice but to wait.”
Nazri said Dr Mahathir’s conditions — which were for Umno to be de-registered and its MPs become independents while applying for PPBM membership and waiting one year to know whether they would be accepted or not — was neither viable or realistic.