'No Anwar, No DAP' rhetoric now gone, Puad says

 

The slogan about refusing to cooperate with Anwar Ibrahim and DAP promoted by some Umno leaders is now no longer in use, said Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

The Umno politician said this as the government led by Prime Minister and Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bipartisan cooperation with Pakatan Harapan in Parliament this evening.

Mohd Puad said the “Kerajaan Gagal” (failed government) crisis has resulted in the historic cooperation between the government and the opposition.

“DAP (and Harapan), especially Anwar, has a big heart.

“Even though he (Anwar) failed to become the prime minister, he was ready to cooperate (with the government) to cool down political tension, all for the country’s future,” he said in a Facebook post this morning.

Harapan and the government reportedly agreed to sign the MoU, which contains several promised reforms as a step towards a new political landscape for the country.

The agreement is expected to bring about the political stability that Ismail Sabri currently needs as his government has only a slim majority in Dewan Rakyat, with 114 members of Parliament (MPs). The minimum number of MPs needed to form a majority government is 111.

For the record, the “No Anwar, No DAP” slogan was raised by some Umno leaders during the time when the Perikatan Nasional government led by Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was on the verge of crumbling.

Several cabinet members at the time reportedly claimed some Umno leaders were allegedly planning to work with Harapan to bring Muhyiddin down.

Mohd Puad said the government led by Umno has now also shown its generosity as it is willing to put aside the “No Anwar, No DAP” sentiment to accept the terms set by Harapan during negotiations with Putrajaya.

The former Batu Pahat MP added Umno should disclose whether the party’s supreme council has any special request to Ismail Sabri before the understanding with Harapan is inked.

“It’s impossible that there’s none. The people and party members also want to know. We can make a comparison,” he said.

Mohd Puad then ended the post by picking on Communication and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, who was previously active in raising the “No Anwar, No DAP” slogan.

“The main thing is that ‘No Anwar, No DAP’ rhetoric is gone. Annuar has also attended as a government representative. Thank you for being magnanimous,” he said.

Annuar was among the government representatives who signed the joint statement announcing the bipartisan deal yesterday. - Mkini