Umno Semporna invites Muhyiddin to open its delegates conference
SEMPORNA: Umno Semporna’s decision to cancel its invitation for party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to open the division’s delegates conference on August 15 was in line with the wishes of party members.
Its information chief, Datuk Haji Abdul Razak Tun Sakaran, said the decision was reached during a meeting between division head Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Haji Apdal and the committee members.
“We respect the president (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak), we respect the wishes of the majority of the party members from this division. In addition, we want to avoid any untoward incident,” he told reporters after a meeting with several branch leaders and members here yesterday.
According to Razak, Mohd Shafie, being Umno vice president and division head, enjoyed strong and undivided support from party leaders and members, who found it difficult to accept the decision of the party leadership in removing Mohd Shafie from his federal portfolio even though he had gracefully accepted it.
“We need to calm the situation here to ensure that Umno members remain loyal to Umno and try to avoid any split amongst the members.”
Abdul Razak also said that Umno leaders and members here were also unhappy with the recent statements made by Umno supreme council member, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, and Umno Youth chief, Datuk Khairy Jamaluddin, in criticizing the division’s decision to cancel the invitation to Najib.
“As senior leaders (Rahman and Khairy), they should not have made negative statements that could give rise to perception that Semporna division is in crisis. Instead, both the leaders should strive to keep the members united during this trying period and strengthen the party in facing the challenges ahead, particularly from the opposition,” he stressed.
He said as a show of respect to the party leaders and members here, the division have decided to invite Umno deputy president, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin to grace the opening of its delegates conference.
“The wishes of the grassroots are considered rational because he (Muhyiddin) is still Umno deputy president,” Abdul Razak added.