DON’T ACCEPT EX-UMNO MEMBERS, DR M URGED
Accepting them a betrayal of voters who rejected BN, say DAP leaders
PAKATAN Harapan leaders have urged Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad not to accept former Umno members into Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) in the wake of the mass exodus of representatives from Sabah Umno.
Selangor DAP committee member Ronnie Liu said Dr Mahathir, who is PBBM chairman, should not allow a takeover of PPBM by Umno.
Liu, in a post on his Patreon page, a subscription service for online creators, reminded Dr Mahathir of his statement during a meeting before the 14th General Election (GE14) that he would not accept “frogs” from Umno.
“Dr Mahathir had called Umno ‘useless’ and ‘rubbish’. Well, sir, if they are so, I certainly hope you won’t be a rubbish collector and take them into PBBM,” Liu said.
He said this was the second time Dr Mahathir had broken his promise of not accepting former Umno members.
The first was when PPBM took in Jeli member of parliament Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Bagan Serai MP Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali.
“I would respectfully like to remind Dr M that if he takes in these Sabah Umno ‘frogs’, it will further be seen as a betrayal against voters who helped to kick Umno out of the government.
“Don’t tell me now you want them to come back into the government through the Bersatu backdoor?”
He called on PPBM not to resort to accepting those who jump ship to boost its membership.
“I am aware Bersatu has very few MPs compared with DAP and PKR. I’m sure, over time, Bersatu can win more seats. Be patient. Why try to grow big (quickly) like this? This is not the right way. Do you know (that) at one time PKR had only one MP (Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail)?
“Do you know (that) at one time DAP was reduced to only nine MPs? We persevered and grew organically. That is the way to do it.”
DAP’s Bukit Gelugor member of parliament Ramkarpal Singh said Umno representatives switching allegiance to Dr Mahathir was a dangerous trend and one that was against the will of the people who voted Barisan Nasional out.
He said accepting them into Pakatan Harapan would be a betrayal to the people who wanted real change, not a cosmetic one where many old faces were part of the new government.
“I wonder if Harapan were to lose in the next election, would our MPs do the same and jump over to the other side?”
He said change did not only mean prosecuting the former prime minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) and his deputy (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) for alleged offences, but more importantly, dismantling policies and eradicating corruption that had become rampant under Umno rule for decades.
“Harapan does not need these former Umno representatives. It needs more men and women of principle to further its noble agenda of reform.
“The issue here is not so much whether these Umno representatives deserve to be a part of Harapan (if ) they were to join one of our component parties, but how such crossovers would reflect on Harapan’s commitment to reform and change.
“The more Pakatan entertains these crossovers, the more disillusioned the rakyat will be with Pakatan.
“It is hoped that the prime minister (Dr Mahathir) takes heed of the dissatisfaction of the rakyat towards the antics of these former Umno representatives as it would be a great betrayal to them.”