Sacked Umno man Tun Faisal confirms joining Bersatu

 

Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said he will receive his membership letter from Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday night. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Former Putrajaya Umno deputy chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz has confirmed that he will be joining Bersatu.

“At the moment, that’s the plan,” he told FMT. “I will receive my membership letter from party president Muhyiddin Yassin tonight (at Perikatan Nasional’s Negeri Sembilan election machinery launch).”

Faisal, a critic of party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, was sacked from Umno on Jan 31, days after former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and former Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar were given the boot.

Asked today if he had any regrets about leaving Umno to join Bersatu, Faisal said he had none after his attempts to “save the party” were denied.

“I tried my best to save Umno. The last attempt was before the party polls when Khairy, myself and many others tried to ensure that there would be a contest for the president’s post, but our efforts were denied,” he said.

All the best, says Zahid

When Zahid was asked about Faisal’s decision to join Bersatu, the Umno president wished him “all the best” and stressed that the party and BN only needed loyal leaders.

Faisal said he chose Bersatu because he believed he could contribute his expertise and years of experience with Putrajaya Umno.

“Since I was from Putrajaya Umno, (Putrajaya MP) Radzi Jidin might need some input from the locals. So I think I will be able to play a significant role (in Bersatu),” he said.

Faisal’s membership in Umno had been suspended for six years in 2021 after he demanded that Zahid make a statutory declaration denying allegations that he supported Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to become prime minister.

On Jan 31 this year, he said he had been sacked from the party. Khairy and Noh were sacked for breaching party discipline during the 15th general election. Khairy said he would not make an appeal against his sacking. - FMT