‘Better for us’ - Selangor Harapan reps ‘welcome’ Noh Omar's return to Umno

Selangor Pakatan Harapan leaders have appeared to congratulate and “welcomed” Noh Omar’s return as the state’s Umno liaison committee chairperson.

Approached by Malaysiakini, Selangor PKR deputy chairperson Hee Loy Sian (photo) noted with sarcasm how the Tanjung Karang MP had led the party to its worst-ever showing in GE14.

“This is good. This will make it easier to maintain a Harapan government in Selangor,” Hee said when contacted yesterday.

Noh resigned from the post in June 2018 following Umno and BN’s third consecutive defeat in Selangor. He was reappointed earlier this week.

The Kajang assemblyperson said the reappointment demonstrated that Umno had run out of leaders.

“Facing him will be better for us. Because he lacks the ability to lead Umno to victory.

“This shows that Umno lacks leaders as they have re-appointed an old leader who had failed to perform and lost badly. This will make our work easy in the future,” Hee said.

Umno and its BN allies’ first lost grip of Selangor in GE12 (2008) to Pakatan Rakyat, a coalition comprising PKR, DAP and PAS.

After GE14 in 2018, Umno was left with just four state assemblypersons in the 56-seat state assembly. The number now stands at five following its win in the Semenyih by-election.

Noh is the party’s only MP in Selangor. 

Meanwhile, state Amanah chairperson Izham Hashim (above) advised Noh to focus his efforts on rebuilding Selangor Umno, which he claimed had become “weak and leaderless”.

“We have observed in our constituencies that Umno has become lifeless. Neither does it stand out in its role (as the Opposition) in the state legislative assembly.

“He should fix this to ensure the role of the assembly runs smoothly. We, too, want a strong opposition in Selangor for better check and balance,” quipped the Pandan Indah assemblyperson.

Be on guard, not complacent

Seri Serdang lawmaker Siti Mariah Mahmud similarly opined that the reappointment would benefit Harapan but cautioned against complacency, especially in Malay-majority areas.

“We will not be complacent. We are confident that what Selangor Harapan has done for the people thus far is much better than what BN had done in the past.

“Muafakat Nasional (Umno’s political pact with PAS) will cause fragmentation among the Selangor people as its focus on race and religion will not go well with the Selangor people,” the Amanah politician said.

This follows Noh’s plan to focus on building Umno’s relationship with PAS to enable the former to recapture the state in the next general election.

Siti Mariah Mahmud

Siti Mariah’s warning was echoed by Selangor DAP vice president Ng Suee Lim, who was concerned about the possible employment of “dirty tactics”.

With Umno back in federal power, he imagined that the party would want control of Selangor, the country’s wealthiest state.

“We will be more prepared and careful because anything can happen. They will use all sorts of dirty tactics, as seen through their backdoor betrayals and the like.

“Don’t take this lightly. My advice is that we (Harapan) should continue to be vigilant against their strategic moves,” said the Sekinchan assemblyperson when contacted today.

Ng’s “backdoor betrayal” comment is believed to refer to “Sheraton Move” - a political coup that resulted in the collapse of the Harapan federal government.

This paved way for Perikatan Nasional (PN) - comprising Bersatu, Umno, MIC, MCA, PAS, GPS and Gabungan Bersatu Sabah - to ascend to power.

Noh problem except PN

For Selangor Opposition leader Rizam Ismail, Noh was the right choice.

The Umno leader pointed to the former minister’s half a decade experience in leading Selangor Umno, from 2013 to 2018.

“With his vast experience, I hope he will be a successful new chairperson,” Rizam said.

Meanwhile, PAS’ sole representative in Selangor - Sijangkang assemblyperson Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi - said he had no problem with Umno’s latest move.

The state PAS chairperson, however, drew a comparison between the type of political cooperation at the federal and state level.

Like Noh, he said Selangor had a Muafakat Nasional pact but was less sure about PN.

“The pact and charter between PAS and Umno is Muafakat Nasional. The other one (PN) has yet to happen, that is only at the federal level.

“We don’t even have a committee on that (PN) in Selangor yet. Let’s just wait,” he said when contacted.

Ahmad Yunus’ comments raise questions about Umno and PAS’ relationship with Bersatu in Selangor.

Following the defection of two PKR assemblypersons - Azmin Ali (Bukit Antarabangsa) and Hilman Idham (Gombak Setia) - as part of the Sheraton Move, Bersatu now has a total of seven state seats.

However, the seven state assemblypersons are split in their allegiance.

Four (Kuang, Jeram, Batang and Dengkil) previously declared their support for the Harapan state government. The rest - Azmin, Hilman and Abdul Rashid Asari (Selat Kelang) - support PN.

Abdul Rashid (above), who is Selangor Bersatu chief - told Malaysiakini that the party’s official status in Selangor will be decided once the upcoming party polls are over. 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Bersatu’s party elections have been postponed indefinitely.

“After that (the polls), we will discuss with Noh about PN in Selangor.

“When Bersatu Selangor is settled, once everyone has held their meetings and we know who the new division chiefs are, we will have a special meeting when Covid-19 (subsidies).

“We will focus on Selangor PN after our party election,” he said when contacted today.  - Mkini