Umno chief: We will be in Pagoda T-shirts if not for political donations

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman has told DAP to come clean over the funds it allegedly received from billionaire Robert Kuok as all political parties need donations to survive.

Zainal said it was disappointing that many opposition leaders and their supporters remained quiet about political donations received but would fiercely criticise BN parties when they received contributions.

“In the 13th general election, BN, under our prime minister, apparently received funds to fund our party Umno… a few billions were received…

“When Umno received donations, there was never-ending noise, from 2013 until now.

“It has been five years and (the opposition) has been talking about the donation story.

“But when someone else or maybe Kuok wants to give donations, no one is making any noise.

“This is unacceptable,” Zainal told reporters in Bayan Lepas today.

DAP leaders Lim Guan Eng and Lim Kit Siang have strongly denied that the party received any funds from Kuok.

Blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin recently claimed that Kuok had channelled funds to DAP through his nephew, James. James has, however, denied this.

Raja Petra also claimed that Kuok had an agenda to replace Malaysia’s leadership with DAP so that the Chinese could be in power.

Zainal said all political parties needed donations as the polls drew closer.

He said the money was for the election machinery, which in the case of Umno included more than 200,000 members at 21,000 branches across the country.

“This excludes our BN component parties, such as Gerakan, MCA, MIC, PPP and friends of BN… so the number can rise up to more than a million people.

“I say to the opposition, please think rationally and logically and don’t oppose for the sake of opposing.

“If we do not have donations, we would have to wear white Pagoda T-shirts and wave flags without party logos to save money,” he said.

Earlier, Zainal, who is Penang Federal Action Council chief, opened an upgraded road connecting the airport to Teluk Kumbar on the southeast portion of Penang Island.

The 3km four-lane road cost RM207.7 million and was built by the federal Public Works Department.

The new road, completed on Dec 23, took three years to build. It would ease access to the second bridge and cut travel time from 30 minutes to 10 minutes during peak hours. -FMT