Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on news you need to know.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Umno should sever all ties with Bersatu immediately if that is what the party wants and stop threatening repeatedly to do so, said Datuk Rosol Wahid.
The Bersatu supreme council member said Umno should stop intimidating his party or making all manner of demands for its continued support, according to Utusan Malaysia.
“This is not the age of threats, like what Tok Mat said, not just perform silat pulut (a ceremonial Malay martial art performance), we just hit it straight; if you want to punch, just punch, no need to keep faking,” Rosol was quoted as saying.
He was citing Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, or Tok Mat, who urged the latter’s party to be decisive in its action towards Bersatu.
Rosol, who is also deputy minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs, said Umno should also not be demanding concessions from Bersatu when it has already said it would end their cooperation.
He mocked the Malay nationalist party for repeatedly deferring its action to this or that meeting but without ever following through.
Commenting on Umno delegates’ speeches at the party assembly, he said they were in no position to boast given their performance in the previous general election.
“They (Umno speakers) just talk, (there are states) all has lost for 30 years, 15 years.
“They have lost the states. Like Kelantan, they talk loudly but have lost for 30 years; like Selangor, has lost for 15 years,” he told Utusan Malaysia.
On Sunday, Umno formalised its decision to end its political cooperation with Bersatu for the 15th general election but would allow its leaders to continue serving in Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s Cabinet.
Umno president Datu Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the motion was unanimously accepted at his party’s assembly on Sunday.
Zahid also said the party was considering another ultimatum, which is to immediately withdraw support for Perikatan Nasional the moment the Emergency is lifted on August 1 or earlier, but added that this will be discussed at length in the next supreme council meeting.