GO AHEAD, JAIL NAJIB’S STEPSON RIZA AZIZ, JHO LOW – IT WON’T KILL US: UMNO UNFAZED BY U.S. DOJ ACTION

Likening Umno to a tree, party information chief Annuar Musa said the party would not be too concerned to discuss about one single branch or fruit.

“We are looking at (Umno as) one tree. Why should we discuss about one branch or fruit?

“We are concerned if the tree (Umno) is dying,” said Annuar during a press conference at Umno headquarters in PWTC in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said this when asked whether Umno would be explaining issues surrounding the United States Department of Justice’s 1MDB-linked civil suit during its nationwide roadshow slated to begin on Oct 7.

Annuar earlier announced that the Umno supreme council at its meeting last Friday had decided that it was time for the party to stop being defensive and instead goes on the offensive in an ongoing “battle of perception”.

The DOJ suit to recover over US$1 billion worth of assets linked to 1MDB funds had implicated an unidentified “Malaysian Official 1” which critics insisted could only refer to Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.

Umno Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan also previously had said “MO1” obviously referred to Najib but suggested that his name was not mentioned as he was not directly involved in the investigation.

Commenting further on the planned roadshow, Annuar said it was important for the public to be informed about current issues happening in the country.

“It is now or never. We want to see the rise of Umno’s machinery at all levels,” he said, adding that such efforts would similarly be extended to other BN component parties.

“BN must present itself as one united force,” he said.

For Umno, Annuar also said its upcoming Annual General Assembly on Nov 29 to Dec 3, would continue to focus on the party’s commitment to address real issues affecting the people.

This, he said, was despite the opposition’s alleged insistence to play up a negative perception towards Umno and BN.

MKINI