‘Abdul Kadir should think before lashing out’

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said former Information Minister Sheikh Abdul Kadir should quit the party if he is unhappy.

PUTRAJAYA: The Umno Disciplinary Board has not completed its investigation into allegations that veteran Sheikh Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir had made negative statements against the party.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the board was in the process of gathering information and proof on alleged negative statements for further action by the party’s supreme council.

However he said, Abdul Kadir who is still the Kulim-Bandar Baharu Umno division treasurer, should exercise caution and must think before making any statement which can affect the image and good name of Umno.

“I hope Abdul Kadir will think first before saying something. Don’t just follow your heart’s desire. Maybe he is unhappy with something.

“He can talk to us, discuss with us. Don’t just follow your heart and lash out,” he told reporters after opening the Putrajaya Parliament Family Day, here, today.

Tengku Adnan, who is Putrajaya MP, stressed that the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno never had or needed to pay money for votes whether during party polls  or general elections.

He said the people were wise enough to pick people’s representatives and government, during every general election, to head the country.

“Why doesn’t he (Abdul Kadir) resign first if he doesn’t feel Umno is right,” said Adnan.

In January, Abdul Kadir was reported to have claimed that the BN gave between RM200 to RM1,000 to buy votes in the last general election.

However, Abdul Kadir, who is also Angkatan Amanah Merdeka (Amanah) deputy president, denied he had issued such a statement.

In a statement recently, Abdul Kadir clarified that his relations with the Umno leadership was cordial and that there was no problem.

Use proper channels to criticise

Meanwhile in Seberang Perai, former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today advised Umno veterans to use the proper channels if they wanted to criticise the party in order not to tarnish Umno’s image.

Abdullah, who is also Kepala Batas MP, said there were instances of Umno veterans criticising the party openly of late and that this should stop.

“It is not wrong for Umno veterans to state their views on the party’s top leadership or the party itself but this must be done with good intentions and not to tarnish the image of Umno,” he told reporters after handing over welfare aid to selected needy recipients from the Seberang Perai Utara (SPU) district here today.

He said the culture of picking quarrels and blaming others should also be avoided as it would only cause problems and put the party in a negative light among the people.

-Bernama