Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan’s call to petition the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to hold a special Parliament session has been met with lacklustre support from party MPs.
According to a source in the party’s senior leadership, few MPs are willing to back the proposal.
“They are not supporting because they fear the move would give Umno a bad image,” the source told Malaysiakini.
Yesterday, Umno election director Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said sending a letter to the king is not an act of betrayal as claimed by some quarters, such as former BN secretary-general Annuar Musa.
Former de facto law minister Nazri Abdul Aziz also reportedly said Umno should not be seen as treasonous for merely asking for the Agong’s consideration to hold a special parliamentary session.
Nazri said Ahmad’s letter was not a personal matter, but a collective decision by the party.
The Umno source said Annuar was mistaken because the party’s move is within the boundaries of existing law.
“I support the Umno president’s move. There is nothing wrong with writing a letter to the king. It is not a betrayal as Annuar alleged.
“When he was young, he was the one criticising the royal institution. We in Umno safeguard the sovereignty of the rulers,” the source said, referring to the Ketereh MP's involvement in the installation of a new monarch in Kelantan several decades ago.
Meanwhile, another source, who is also a senior party leader, confirmed that most of the party’s MP were rejecting the letter.
As for Tajuddin, he told Malaysiakini there were several reasons Umno MPs were not backing the letter issued by the party.
“Many disagreed… Some don’t understand and some are looking after political interests,” Tajuddin said. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.