Fingers pointing at Zahid as more Umno MPs quit
Hisham denies rumours he is leaving Umno after meeting PM
With two veteran Umno MPs quitting 24 hours of each other, there are calls for Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to assume responsibility, make clear the party’s direction and even step aside as president. To date, five MPs and four state assemblymen have left Umno since the 14th General Election. If a list making its rounds on social media is anything to go by,
15 more will follow suit.
PETALING JAYA: Former Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has met Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in Putrajaya.
Utusan Online reported that the meeting was held on Tuesday.
Hishammuddin, who is also a former Umno vice-president, however said the meeting was only to listen to Dr Mahathir’s plans for the country’s future.
Following the meeting, talk arose that Hishammuddin will also leave Umno.
“Nothing else was discussed. There is no reason for me to leave Umno now.
“But to me, the Umno leadership needs to show a clear direction for all members to prevent even more people from leaving the party.
“Do not believe the speculation out there. I have no reason to leave the party.
“However, I feel that the leadership should set a clear direction for all of us Umno members,” he told Bernama yesterday.
In a Facebook post, Dr Mahathir’s media adviser Datuk A. Kadir Jasin dropped hints about the meeting.
“Assalamuailaikum Datuk Seri Hishamuddin, nak tanya, semalam pergi Putrajaya jumpa siapa? (I wish to ask, who did you meet in Putrajaya yesterday?)” Kadir wrote.
Meanwhile, the names of 17 Umno leaders quitting the party have emerged on social media following the resignations of two senior Umno leaders from the party within 24 hours.
The list included Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who quit on Tuesday, and Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, who resigned yesterday.
Former minister and Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, whose name is also in the list, said he would never leave as he owed it to Umno members and his voters who had supported him over the last 25 years.
He has been Padang Rengas Umno chief for 14 years.
“It is not fair for me to just think of myself and leave.
“I cannot abandon my voters and Umno members,” said Nazri yesterday.
He said he understood why Mustapa and Anifah left the party, saying that the two were unhappy with Umno’s decision to work with PAS.
“Tok Pa (Mustapa), in his 40 years in politics, has always been fighting PAS.
“Anifah, from Sabah, is very uneasy when Umno is working with PAS, because in Sabah, the people there are liberal.
“I think both of them are not happy with the direction of the party leadership,” he said.
Perlis Umno deputy chief Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, whose name was also on the list, claimed that Umno and Barisan Nasional MPs had met Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia leaders to discuss a form of cooperation.
Utusan Online quoted the Padang Besar MP as saying that the purpose of the discussions was to seek the “best option to save Umno, but not to jump ship”.
“We want to save Umno because the party has done a lot for the people and country,” he added.
In Seremban, Jempol MP Datuk Mohd Salim Sharif and Jelebu MP Datuk Jalaluddin Alias denied that they would resign after they too were named in the list.
Do not believe the speculation out there. I have no reason to leave the party. Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein