Leave now or face voters’ wrath, Umno divisions warn ministers, deputies

Umno’s grassroots members are no longer in favour of Bersatu, says Wangsa Maju division chief Shafei Abdullah.

PETALING JAYA: Umno division leaders have warned BN ministers to think twice in backing Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to avoid the wrath of the grassroots in the next general election (GE15).

Calling them “minister clusters”, Wangsa Maju Umno division chief Shafei Abdullah said he was surprised these ministers thought there was still a chance for Perikatan Nasional to run the country.

“The numbers speak for themselves. It’s clear-cut. The government of the day does not have the numbers,” Shafei told FMT.

He advised BN ministers, deputy ministers, and Members of Parliament (MPs) “to do the right thing” to avoid the fury of the voters.

Shafei Abdullah.

The Umno grassroots were likely to ditch those who supported Bersatu in GE15, he said, adding that they were ‘”no longer in favour” of the Muhyiddin-led party.

Another Umno division chief from Selangor said he recently spoke to two deputy ministers who backed Muhyiddin.

“I asked them, why don’t they just join Bersatu and leave Umno? Both gave the same answer. They admitted that Bersatu has no grassroots support, so it’s better to stick with Umno,” the division chief said.

He said he told the deputy ministers to wake up and face reality as “they can’t have their cake and eat it, too”. They could forget about winning the hearts of their division’s grassroots if they continued to support Muhyiddin, he said.

Umno Seputeh leader Razlan Rafii advised the “minister clusters” to unite and strengthen the party for GE15.

Razlan Rafii.

“If they want the grassroots’ support, they should know what to do,” he told FMT.

Another Umno division chief, from Kedah, agreed that the party’s grassroots members were angry with those who still backed Bersatu.

“They should know that the government has failed in its attempt to run the country and manage the economy,” he said.

He said people in Kedah were suffering but the “ministers want to support a government that is causing us misery.”

According to reports, 15 MPs from Umno had withdrawn support for Muhyiddin and his administration either through public or statutory declarations (SDs), leaving the governing coalition with only about 100 MPs in the 222-seat Dewan Rakyat.- FMT