'No DAP, no Anwar' stance is just sentiment - Ku Li

 

Umno advisory board member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah alluded that the party’s seemingly hardline “No DAP, no Anwar” stance may not be cast in stone.

“I feel that is just strong sentiment. For me in politics, all that doesn’t matter. What is important is the people. The people must be taken into account.

“If the problem requires us to do something for the people’s benefit, then that must be prioritised.

“On the question of us and DAP, we, as leaders, must be smart - smart in managing, smart in dividing power, smart in deciding and monitoring what can be given and be done by our (political) partners.

“So, if we control the situation, I don’t think it would be a consideration. What’s important is the people,” Tengku Razaleigh said at a forum on Malaysia’s future that was hosted by the National Professors Council in Kajang today.

He said this when responding to a question from a member of the audience on whether the Umno’s “No DAP, no Anwar” political narrative is suited for Malaysia’s political situation.

Previously, Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi had expressed similar views, that the slogan is not always relevant due to shifting political circumstances.

Johor Umno deputy chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed, meanwhile, said cooperation between the two nemeses may not be a bad idea.

Nevertheless, BN secretary-general Annuar Musa had warned against internal ‘conspiracy’ to undo the Umno stance amid speculation that Umno may cooperate with DAP in Perak.

Umno is in the midst of an internal conflict over its cooperation with its splinter party Bersatu.

Although some party leaders, including Annuar and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, appear comfortable with the arraignment, others appear to be lobbying for the alliance to cease immediately.

Among the issues often raised by those who oppose the cooperation is the question of seat allocation. According to this camp, this is because Bersatu is competing for support from the same Malay-Muslim demographic group as Umno and its partner PAS.

To complicate relations for the two parties, Umno had lost many parliamentary seats that it had won in the 14th general election when its MPs defected to Bersatu. - Mkini