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KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 — Umno’s election chief Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman questioned the call for the party to negotiate and discuss the issue of at least 13 of its traditional parliamentary seats which are said to be causing friction within the Perikatan Nasional (PN) ruling coalition.
According to him, Umno has decided to retain and contest in all of the party’s seats that it had won in the 14th general election, including those that were lost to crossovers and defections.
“Umno’s stand is to take back all our areas that have had their elected representatives jump to another party. So when it comes to taking back, there is no negotiations,” Tajuddin reportedly told Sinar Harian.
The 73-year-old Pasir Salak MP was commenting on last week’s news reports that the PN government had invited Umno to return to the negotiating table in an effort to discuss the issue of several parliamentary seats which has been seen to be causing a political rift in the ruling coalition.
PN information chief Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali reportedly said that Umno should not destroy the cooperation built together over the past year.
Tajuddin also strongly denies that Umno wants to put an end to the PN government.
“Umno has no intentions on destroying the PN government. That is why we agreed to support the PN government until Parliament is dissolved,” he was quoted saying, referring to his party.
Tajuddin stressed that Umno’s decision was made with serious considerations and was not done for the sake of amusement.
“We decided to take care of our party. Once our party is taken care of, we can then go on to serve the people.
“If our party is destroyed, how do we serve the people? What is happening now is that at any given moment, Umno can be gone,” Tajuddin reportedly said.
He also claimed that there were unnamed parties that are trying to entice Umno grasroots members and leaders to leave the party in an effort to see Umno wiped-out.
On March 5, it was reported that Mohamed Azmin hoped “certain leaders” from Umno would re-examine their party’s decision to not cooperate with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia in the coming 15th general election.
Azmin, who is also the Bersatu election director, added that PN was built on noble aspirations to safeguard Malaysians during the health pandemic, and values unity above all else to keep the government stable.
His response came after Umno sent a letter to Bersatu on February 26, indicating that it will not cooperate with Bersatu for the next general election.
However, Umno said it would continue to be aligned with the PN coalition until the Malaysian parliament is dissolved.
PAS, which is working with Umno in their Muafakat Nasional alliance, also released a statement on the same day, saying the Islamic party is committed to ensure both Umno and Bersatu remained as allies.