Sabah Umno joins chorus against PPBM Youth chief’s ‘time is over’ remark

 

Kimanis MP Mohamad Alamin says as a ‘PPBM boy’, PPBM Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal has no right to assess Umno’s strengths.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Umno has waded into the controversy over the claim by PPBM Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal that Umno is no longer a major force in politics.

Kimanis MP Mohamad Alamin said although Wan Fayhsal was entitled to his opinion, he should not speak about the strength of other parties.

“He is a PPBM boy, not Umno. How can he assess Umno’s strength? Only loyal Umno members can assess this,” he told FMT.

Mohamad contended that Wan Fayhsal was not being honest in inviting Umno to work together with Perikatan Nasional in the next general election (GE15) while at the same time trying to portray the party as one which had lost its support.

“If he wants to unite the parties then he has to acknowledge Umno’s strength. Don’t talk about Umno’s dominance being a thing of the past. The fact is that on the ground Umno’s support is growing.

“If you want to bring together the Muslim Bumiputera parties then acknowledge each parties’ strength – acknowledge Umno’s strength, don’t try to be a hypocrite,” he said.

Wan Fayhsal, the deputy youth and sports minister, was reported as saying the era when Umno was dominant was over and that the current political scenario demanded all parties to work together.

“If we do not work together, we will all lose out and we may be defeated (in the election). PPBM is still hoping Umno will remain with Perikatan Nasional to avoid three-cornered fights,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.

This sparked a rebuttal from several Umno leaders, including former prime minister Najib Razak and Umno’s Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz.

Meanwhile, Sabah Umno Youth chief Abdul Aziz Julkarnain agreed, albeit sarcastically, with Wan Fayhsal’s point over the possibility of Umno, PPBM and PAS losing in GE15 if the parties did not work together.

Aziz brought up the issue of seats, saying the only visible problem was that PPBM was eyeing Umno’s traditional seats.

“Yes, Wan Fayhsal is totally aware that PPBM will be wiped out if they turn greedy in terms of seats, hence, to strengthen this government, let us work together. Find your own seats, and we’ll support you wholeheartedly.

“If they choose to stand in other seats, certainly we will support them, no issue, as long as we do not clash in seats distribution,” he said.

Aziz also dismissed Wan Fayhsal’s contention that Umno’s time was up, saying the people still needed the party.

“Umno’s fight is far from over. It is an endless and immaculate fight. As long as there are people in need, we will be there. We leave no one behind.

“If PPBM cannot accept this, then we will have a big issue. It’s as simple as that,” he said. - FMT