Former Umno minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz says that Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah's departure from Umno shows the party does not tolerate dissenting views. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, October 15, 2015.
Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah's departure from Umno shows the party does not tolerate dissenting views, says party veteran Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.
The former International Trade and Industry minister also said it did not bode well for Umno that there are members who may not leave the party, but neither will they give it their support, she said.
"There are many who are not exactly happy with the way things are, they may not leave the party, but they may just not want to support the party, and that's not good for Umno.
Rafidah said it should never be the case of "either you are with us or you are not", adding that people have the option to "see what is out there".
"And if they feel they are not even allowed that right, then the party loses out in the end," she said.
Umno cannot just rely on those who openly pledged their support to the leaders, she said, adding that the reality was that there were members who were not exactly happy with the way things were in the party.
Rafidah also took exception to Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor labelling Saifuddin as "rubbish" for leaving the party, saying such remarks would not go down well with many Umno members who are loyal to the party but who had concerns with issues linked to leaders.
"Then we have rubbish in government?
"People who lost are advisors," she said in response to the Umno secretary-general's remarks.
Earlier today, Tengku Adnan, when commenting on Saifuddin's leaving Umno, said the party would not be affected by it because the former Supreme Council member lost in the last general election.
"Saifuddin has been with us and used to be an MP for Temerloh. We put him in the last round and he lost. There must be some problem with him.
"Even the rakyat of Temerloh don't want him, so you (PKR) can take him. We don't want him. We don't want all this rubbish in Umno," Tengku Adnan said.
Former information minister Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin, meanwhile, predicted that more would follow in Saifuddin's footsteps and leave Umno, Malaysiakini reported.
"Saifuddin saw that Najib's influence (as a moderate) is waning, so he jumped before the ship sank. I think many more will jump before the ship sinks," the portal quoted him saying.
Saifuddin's departure would hurt Najib more than Umno, he told the portal.
"Umno won't be at a loss, but this will affect Najib's image vis-a-vis moderation,” he was quoted as saying.
Saifuddin today announced that he was leaving Umno for opposition party PKR, citing Putrajaya's handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and the RM2.6 billion deposited into the prime minister's personal accounts as reasons for his decision.
He also attributed his departure from the Malay ruling party to the lack of will to embark on political change and institutional reform – two causes that he said were close to his heart.
- TMI
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