‘Only a handful of Umno MPs will be left’
KUALA TERENGGANU: Gombak member of parliament Datuk Seri Azmin Ali expects the number of MPs from Umno to fall further by the end of this month.
Speaking at a “Malaysia Baharu” debate in conjunction with the PKR election here, Azmin said, of the 49 Umno members of parliament, only “three or four would be left”.
“PKR is the largest block in Parliament.
“It has 51 members of parliament, DAP has 42, Umno has 49, and tomorrow, maybe 40, then 20 and three or four at the end of this month.”
Azmin, who is economic affairs minister, said his statement was based on his assessment of the recently-concluded Umno General Assembly, which seemed weak and without a firm stand in determining the party’s direction.
In calling PKR members to support him in the election in Terengganu this Friday, Azmin, who is contesting the deputy president’s post, said if given the mandate, he would look after the welfare of the people and draw up a strategy to capture the state in the 15th General Election.
On the action of his challenger, Rafizi Ramli, who hurled allegations and brought into question his loyalty to PKR president-elect Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Azmin said Rafizi must remember how he (Azmin) had fought and went through various ordeals since 1998 in defending Anwar.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, who is vying for the vice-president’s post, said PKR members should choose the party’s top leadership based on their commitment to rally its members, not sow disunity based on personal interests.