Najib Backs Party Decision Says Grassroots Unhappy With Umno Bersatu Cooperation

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 Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has revealed that grassroots' dissatisfaction over Umno’s imbalanced relationship with Bersatu is the reason why he supports the Umno political bureau's decision to consider withdrawing support from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
The Pekan MP said many Umno grassroots supporters are unhappy with Umno cooperating with Bersatu as many Umno lawmakers had defected to the splinter party.
The grassroots were even more dissatisfied after months of cooperating with Bersatu, especially after the Sabah state elections which saw Sabah Bersatu chief Hajiji Mohd Noor appointed as chief minister. 
This is despite Sabah BN winning one more seat than Perikatan Nasional (PN).
“What happened in Sabah, including taking Umno seats and PN putting independent candidates to break up BN’s votes… as well as the sharing of power, which seems to be unfair, has fanned the flames of dissatisfaction and anger for many Umno members,” Najib said in a statement today.
The grassroots are also unhappy that many key positions in government are dominated by Bersatu, he added.


Najib gave the example of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin being from Bersatu and the prime minister proxy Azmin Ali also coming from the same party.
In terms of the country’s economy and finances, he said Umno and Muafakat Nasional have no say in it at all as the finance minister, the minister in charge of the economy, as well as international trade, are not from BN nor from PAS.
The same goes for Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Petronas, Najib added. 
“In fact, not a single person from Umno or PAS was appointed to the Economic Action Council to combat Covid-19.
“Instead, an individual like the boss of The Edge was appointed onto the council, along with three Bersatu ministers.
“But Umno is the one being called power crazy now?” Najib said.
Najib further states that Umno/BN is a part of the PN administration so any mistakes made by this government in terms of the economy would also see Umno/BN being blamed as well, even though they had no involvement with any economic decisions.
He pointed out that Umno had repeatedly tried to stop several “questionable” decisions that the PN government had made, such as extending the loan moratorium as well as the merger of UEM Sunrise and Eco World.
“In terms of controlling Covid-19, the National Security Council (NSC) had rejected the suggestion from Health Minister (Dr Adham Baba), who is from Umno, to implement mandatory quarantine on those returning from Sabah before the state elections,” Najib added.

Hamzah Zainudin
He also blamed Bersatu's Home Affairs Minister Hamzah Zainudin for not properly isolating prisoner or observing the standard operating procedures (SOP) which Najib said caused the clusters in several detention centres in Kedah, Perak and Penang.
“If such mistakes did not occur, there would not be a third wave of Covid-19 in Malaysia. And now, Umno is also being blamed for the third wave,” Najib said.
BN leaders have consistently defended the PN government since they started cooperating together, he said, even though a lot of the mistakes were committed by Bersatu ministers.
Hence, he said, it makes sense for Umno’s political bureau last night to decide to consider withdrawing their support for the PN government in lieu of new conditions.
He also said last night’s decision had nothing to do with supporting PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who had claimed he had enough numbers to form a new government.
“Looking at the sentiment of the grassroots as well as from Umno leaders, I think yesterday’s decision was reasonable and did not go overboard because it can open up a wider and fairer space for us to contribute to the efforts of economic recovery and combating Covid-19.”
Najib stressed that his stand has nothing to do with the court cases against him because he is confident that he can clear his name through a just court system.
He also pointed out that he will not accept any ministerial position in the PN government or any new government as long as the cases against him are not resolved.


Annuar Musa

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa said there is some basis to Umno’s decision to reassess its place in the PN government.
“Umno and BN have the right to re-examine its position from time to time and it is not impossible through these re-examinations that the PN government can be strengthened even further through a better and more organised cooperation,” he said today.
He added that there is a need to strengthen Malay unity as it is the basis for stability in the country’s politics and it is up to Umno, PAS and Bersatu to create such unity. 
The focus should also be on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, fixing the economic downturn and saving people’s lives, the Ketereh MP said.
“To do this, we need to be calm, thoughtful and wise in our actions.” - Mkini

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