KJ criticises because he loves Umno, says Bung

UMNO AGM | Umno supreme council member Bung Moktar Radin said Khairy Jamaluddin is being vocal because he loves the party.

Bung said Khairy has every right to criticise the party and its president as long as his criticism doesn't divide the party.

"He has his own views. Although some delegates see KJ's comments as cynical, they also must take note of what he said.

"This is because Umno has to be open for members to criticise. Umno cannot refrain from taking criticism from any of its members, including KJ," he told reporters after the closing of the Umno general assembly today.

Bung stressed that when a member criticises the party, it doesn't mean that he is not loyal.

"Khairy's criticism will not affect the image of the party. I believe his criticism came from his love for Umno," he said.

Meanwhile, Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob urged the Rembau MP to refrain from attacking the president openly as the party has other channels for him to express his dissatisfaction.

"Although he personally didn't agree with the party's policy, we must have a team spirit. We have to accept it although personally, we are against the collective decision.

"I hope we in the team use our platform to communicate. We have meetings with the president, closed-door dialogues and so on. No need to use the media to attack our leader," said Ismail.

He said the past leaders such as Muhyiddin Yassin and Mukhriz Mahathir were sacked from the party because they were openly against the president.

"I hope he (Khairy) returns to the team. A collective decision must be respected more than a personal decision.

"When we wanted to table the alternative budget, the individual chosen to be the chairperson was KJ. That means the president didn't hold grudges against him," he said. -Mkini