Umno rejects officially joining Perikatan Nasional: Source

Umno’s Supreme Council has rejected a proposal that the party officially enter the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, an anonymous source told Malaysiakini today.

The source said that the decision was reached unanimously in the Supreme Council meeting back on Monday and that it aimed to safeguard the position and interest of the party.

“MT (Umno Supreme Council) unanimously rejected, we do not wish to be a small party. If there are many parties in PN, then Umno could not be like it once was in BN.

"Before the MT meeting, the party through its political bureau meeting also rejected the proposal.

"Then a meeting of Umno state liaison chiefs also rejected it,” the source said when contacted by Malaysiakini today.

Umno sealed the pact of Muafakat Nasional with PAS to formalise official cooperation late last year. Other BN component parties are regarded as having entered the pact through Umno.

Through Muafakat Nasional, BN and PAS backed Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin to become Prime Minister of the PN coalition, thereby leading to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration after having been in power for 22 months.

Following the formation of PN administration at the federal level, several formerly PH state governments also tumbled after the week-long political crisis in February.

Late last month, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan emphasized that PN is not an officially registered coalition and that Umno never entered it.

“Umno's relationship with PN is only an understanding to save Malaysia from the political crisis triggered by a group within Pakatan Harapan on their own accord,” he said, stressing that Umno’s cooperation with PN was different from its understanding with PAS in Muafakat Nasional.

Official platform is a different story

Meanwhile, Umno Supreme Council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the proposal to register PN and Umno as allies need to be studied properly.

At the same time, he said that Umno’s support to PN and Muhyiddin as prime minister need not be questioned.

“It needs to be viewed seriously in terms of the benefit that Umno gets and also the negative.

"But this does not mean Umno does not support PN, otherwise without support then we would not be in the government.

"Umno can assure confidence that we support PN and the prime minister, (but whether PN) becomes an official platform is a different matter,” he said.

Through PN, Umno succeeded in returning to power in states that were won by PH in the 14th General Election, namely Melaka (before this the chief minister was from Amanah) and Johor (previously the menteri besar was from Bersatu).

However, in Perak, Bersatu continued to head the state administration despite Umno having won more state seats. - Mkini