PETALING JAYA,Jan 6: Who will Umno work with in the 15th general election (GE15) should the party’s Supreme Council decide not to cooperate with PPBM in its meeting tonight.
In raising the question, former Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein said that is another issue the party needs to decide on should they part ways with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s party.
Like Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Hishammuddin said he too is willing to resign from his post if his party directs him to but maintained that Umno must have a clear direction and objective in mapping out the future of the party.
Previously, Khairy said he will quit the Cabinet if instructed by the Umno Supreme Council to do so, as he was bound by the party’s decision.
“If the party decides not to continue its partnership with PPBM, then the party has to decide who Umno will work with in GE15. Will it be DAP? Will it be PKR? Or will we go it alone?” Hishammuddin said in a statement today.
“Umno’s political cooperation must be done carefully because elections aren’t tomorrow. Umno must do this in a responsible and wise manner. Considerations cannot be made based on emotions and short-term effects.
“In GE14, we only won 79 of the 133 seats we won in GE13. This means that we lost 54 seats. We must learn from this experience.”
Hishammuddin added that Umno had been given the opportunity to prove its capability to lead the people, with several leaders appointed in key ministries, such as health, defence, as well as science, technology and innovation.
He said the party should be committed in their efforts of serving the people as best as they could, adding that Malaysians were sick of politicians endlessly grappling for power.
Sources had earlier revealed that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told all of the party’s MPs to resign from their posts in the government and government-linked companies by the end of the month.
