Zahid: Sorry I have no power, I am only Umno president

 

Umno president and BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi apologised to the people if issues he raised on their behalf had fallen on deaf ears.

Taking to Facebook today, he explained that he did not hold the reins of administration in the country despite his high position in Umno and BN.

"All I can do in such a limited capacity is to speak up and I will continue to do so for the sake of all of us.

"(However) if the issue raised (by me) is not entertained by the authority, I can only apologise to you," he said.

It is believed that he was referring to matters brought up by his party, but did not get attention from the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government. 

This included the issue of extending the bank loan moratorium and the one-off RM10,000 withdrawal from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Account 1, which was raised by Umno.

The PN government only extended the moratorium on a targeted basis and allowed the EPF i-Sinar withdrawal.

Meanwhile, Zahid said he had read all the rakyat's comments on the cost of living and he pledged to further voice their concerns despite his alleged lack of pull. 

While noting that several parliamentarians have been appointed as cabinet members, he said they have no absolute power.

"If you look at me as someone who can speak out, yes, I have done it as I did during the debate of Budget 2021 and many times before.

"I can do so in Parliament, but the (Parliament) sitting is not allowed now," he added.

An emergency has been in place since Jan 12 and will last until Aug 1, on top of the renewed movement control order to contain the Covid-19 outbreak which had worsened since November last year.

No parliamentary sitting can take place throughout the emergency.

Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan had attempted to rally the party's MPs to support a special sitting during the state of emergency. - Mkini