Mat Taib to speak at Umno roadshows

Former Selangor Menteri Besar Selangor Muhammad Muhamad Taib (Mat Taib), who has returned to Umno, will be making special appearances in the party’s information roadshow series on current issues in Selangor organised by the state Umno liaison committee.

Its information chief Zein Isma Ismail said the first of the series, which will be held in nine districts, will be held on Oct 17 in Lembah Jaya.

“During the series, we will include Tan Sri (Muhammad) who will share his experience during the time he was with the opposition.

“He also wants to remind voters, especially in Selangor, of the shortcomings of the opposition so that they will not vote wrongly in the coming general election,” he told a press conference in Shah Alam today.

On Sept 17, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also Umno president, announced that Muhammad had returned to the party after quitting it and joining PAS in April 2013 before joining Parti Keadilan Rakyat in September 2015.

Asked if Muhammad still had the clout to convince the people, Zein Isma said as a menteri besar of the state for 11 years and a former vice president of Umno as well as chairperson of the Selangor Umno liaison committee for two terms, Muhammad was certainly no ordinary person.

“When I was still in Youth (Umno), he had done a lot and as menteri besar, he had done much for Selangor. So, he still has a lot of clout to influence not just the veteran voters but also the young ones to reject Pakatan Harapan in Selangor,” he said.

On a separate issue, Zein Isma lambasted the statement by Selangor Menteri Mohamed Azmin Ali yesterday that the state government had approved the German food and drink festival for several years as the organisers had complied with the conditions set by the local authorities.

He said the statement showed that Mohamed Azmin was not sensitive to the people of Selangor who were mostly Muslims.

“It is not logical for Mohamed Azmin to leave the decision to hold the festival completely to the local authority… you are the head of the state government. This shows that he is subservient to DAP and the DAP controls everything,” he said.

Last Monday, inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the police would stick by their decision not to allow the festival to be held in a shopping mall in Klang on Oct 12 and 13 Oct, following the possibility of attacks by militants. 

- Bernama