Resolve Dr M-Pak Lah tiff before polls, Umno delegate tells party

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

December 01, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 — The Umno supreme council should initiate a dialogue between Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to resolve their differences, a delegate has said.

Cheras Umno division chief Datuk Wira Syed Ali Alhabshee stressed today that such a move was urgent and that it needed to be done to ensure party unity before the 13th general election.

“We hope the supreme council will initiate a talk between the two leaders...sit them down on one table so Umno will become much stronger for the general election,” he told delegates during the debates of the party’s presidential speech at Putra World Trades Centre (PWTC) here.

Dr Mahathir has been a vocal critic of his successor, and has blamed Abdullah for Umno’s failure to secure a two-thirds majority in Election 2008.

Syed Ali also said party members should view Dr Mahathir’s criticisms as “constructive”, and that it was only done to make the party stronger.

He (Dr Mahathir) does it because he really loves the party,”

Syed Ali also urged Umno members to become more active online in disseminating information to the public.

He said more needed to be done to tackle online portals which were pro-opposition, and listed them down.

“Malaysiakini, Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today, we need to do more, be more active,” said the Umno man.