Respect Your Allies Feelings Puad Tells Pkr

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Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi (left) said there must be a reason why Tengku Zafrul Aziz is so ‘in demand’ in Malaysian politics.
PETALING JAYA: Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi says PKR has the power to reject Tengku Zafrul Aziz’s entry into the party if it wants to.
Although he acknowledged that the investment, trade, and industry minister has the right to choose which party he wishes to join, Puad stated that PKR should have the “moral backbone” in dealing with this issue.
“If it’s true that Tengku Zafrul is joining PKR, Umno members can only be upset, as they can’t do anything about it. The one to blame is PKR.
“The party has the power to reject him, if it has the moral backbone to respect its allies, especially under the principle of solidarity within the unity government,” he wrote on Facebook.
He added that there must be a reason why Tengku Zafrul is so “in demand” in Malaysian politics.
“Political parties now resemble corporations. There are individuals with the status of CEOs who are highly sought after by political parties,” he said.
Yesterday, Tengku Zafrul, who is also a member of Umno’s Supreme Council, admitted that he had held preliminary discussions with PKR but had yet to make any decision on whether to join the party.
The former CEO of CIMB Group clarified that the discussions did not involve positions at the state level, nor by-elections, as speculated.
Last Friday, FMT quoted an internal source from Selangor Umno as saying negotiations were under way over the possibility of Tengku Zafrul leaving Umno to join PKR.
However, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi later confirmed that there had been no formal notification from the party’s Kota Raja division chief regarding the matter.
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim also confirmed initial discussions about Tengku Zafrul’s potential entry into his party but emphasised that the process should be conducted amicably without harming relations with Umno.
The prime minister reportedly said PKR maintains an open policy of accepting anyone but does not actively invite them.
Separately, PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari today labelled objections raised by Umno over the possibility that Tengku Zafrul would defect to PKR as nothing more than an act to fool the people.
“They (Umno) can’t really protest too much or (they’ll) risk affecting the relationship between teacher and student,” he said, alluding to the ties between Anwar and Zahid. - FMT

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