Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan has come out against party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah - who has gone rogue in his opposition to the government.
Without mentioning names, Shahril said the Gua Musang MP's recent actions - holding a press conference with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and abstaining from the Budget 2021 vote - were disrespectful to party discipline.
"As a youth in the party, I respect the veterans. But I really don't see the need for a senior Umno MP, who is an influential (party) adviser, without shame holding a press conference with the opposition.
"Its impact is not small. (It) confuses the grassroots as to what Umno's stance is (and) disrespected the discipline of the party which has decided to support the budget," he said in a statement today.
Two days ago, Razaleigh and Mahathir held a joint press conference in which they alluded to the possibility that the government might lose the budget vote, which was held yesterday.
The Gua Musang MP also hinted that he may be able to convince some Umno lawmakers to vote against the government.
However, Budget 2021 ended up being passed 111-108, with Razaleigh absent from the vote.
Shahril said disagreement within a party is normal, and not everyone is happy with Budget 2021.
However, the Umno deputy youth chief said disagreements should be voiced through the proper channels.
"But when you clearly make announcements and invite others to a policy decision without the party's permission, that is against the party - that is a different story," he added.
Razaleigh has positioned himself against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, saying Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin lacks the legitimacy to lead.
Umno's official stance is that it supports PN conditionally.
BN backbenchers club chairperson Najib Abdul Razak, who has been critical of Budget 2021, had assured supporters that this remains the case and that retaliation can be carried out if BN's wishes are not fulfilled. - Mkini
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