I'm still an Umno man, not sacked yet, Rais says

Former information minister Rais Yatim may be an ardent 1MDB critic but he remains an Umno man through and through.

Hence, come election time he will be campaigning for the ruling Malay party and BN.

"I am an Umno man, I have not yet been sacked. I don't know what will happen if I am sacked," he said with a chuckle.

"(But until then) I will campaign through my division (Jelebu). I will campaign for Umno and BN most definitely," he said.

Rais was speaking to Malaysiakini in an interview at his office at International Islamic University Malaysia in Gombak yesterday.

Rais re-entered the spotlight when he started speaking outagainst the government for dismissing allegations regarding 1MDB-linked businessperson Jho Low and his alleged yacht the Equanimity, without first investigating the matter.

His criticisms earned the ire of Umno supreme council member Nazri Abdul Aziz as well as Special Affairs Department (Jasa) officer Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz.

Rais insisted that he was only advising Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on the matter in his capacity as a special advisor to the government.

He stressed that he will continue to speak out against what he feels is wrong even if campaigning for the ruling government.

"I will not break any etiquette but I will still raise matters that I feel are wrong," he said.

Such a stance and his recent criticisms have caused some to speculate that he may leave Umno and join Dr Mahathir Mohamad's splinter-group Bersatu.

He had made a similar move himself in 1988 when he, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and others left Umno to form Semangat 46 to fight against Mahathir.

While giving no indication that he will eave Umno again, Rais stressed that principles were more important than which party he belonged to.

"Some politicians join DAP today and join another party tomorrow. Jumping between parties is normal.

"But what we want to see is everyone being united for Malaysia, not just for the sake of one small group."

Rais felt that Bersatu posed a significant challenge to Umno especially with heavy-hitters like Mahathir and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin at the helm.

But whether they will have enough support at the ballot box remains to be seen.

"If given a choice [...] BN has an advantage because the people have felt its contributions," he said.

The political veteran also warned that a lot may happen in the last two days of the coming election campaign.

"A lot will happen in those two days. What 'tributes' and 'envelopes' (will be given out to voters) [...] what will be handed out while in the car.

"This can change the situation," he said.

Rais warned Bersatu to be wary of such tactics and said he hoped BN would move beyond this.

"It is important for us to advance to a new level of democracy. If the last two days is the same as before, it would be difficult for me to say at which level (our democracy is at)," he noted. -Mkini