AS UMNO BURNS, MAHATHIR OFFERS PARTY ‘DIEHARDS’ A POISONED CHALICE – EVEN AS HE DENIES PLOTTING SABAH IMPLOSION: ‘IF YOU DON’T LIKE TO COME OUT, YOU CAN STAY’

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has denied allegations that he plotted Sabah Umno’s mass defection with Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

He said Umno members have minds of their own on whether they want to leave the party or not.

“If they don’t like to come out, they can stay.

“Yes, they (some of them) met me. They came to tell me they want to leave Umno,” Dr Mahathir said, adding that elected representatives have to remain as independents.

He said it was still unclear if Pakatan Harapan will accept them.

“We have to see how they behave. If they are supportive and they didn’t do anything wrong in the past, we will accept them,” said Dr Mahathir after launching the Proton X70 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on Wednesday (Dec 12).

Earlier, nine of 10 Umno Sabah assemblymen, five of six MPs, 21 of 25 division heads and two senators announced a mass exodus from the party.

News portal Malaysiakini had reported, quoting sources, that Hishammuddin, a former defence minister, was leading the charge to trigger the mass resignations, a claim the former Umno vice-president has denied.

Meanwhile, Beluran MP Datuk Seri Dr Ronald Kiandee has also come to Hishammuddin’s defence, saying that the latter had nothing to do with the exodus of Sabah Umno lawmakers.

Dr Kiandee told The Star that the decision to leave Umno was a collective one by the party’s Sabah chapter.

“He (Hishammuddin) has nothing to do with our decision. 

“We moved for our own reasons so it’s not right to drag him into this,” said Dr Kiandee.

He added that linking Hishammuddin to the exit of Sabah Umno lawmakers is only an attempt to make him a scapegoat and hide the party’s weaknesses.

THE STAR