KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Perikatan Nasional (PN) lawmaker Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said he will mobilise a non-governmental organisation dubbed Perpaduan Ummah (Ummah Unity) in an effort to unite the Malay-Muslims in Malaysia regardless of political leanings.

This comes after former Umno warlord Tan Sri Annuar Musa opened registration for NGO Muafakat Nasional, claiming he managed to pool some 10,000 for the organisation.

"Umno members who feel they have lost faith in their leaders are also strongly encouraged to join this NGO and together uphold the efforts towards the unification of ummah.

"Umno lost badly in the recent election because it stubbornly wanted to go solo,” he was quoted as saying by Malay daily Utusan Malaysia.

The Arau MP also reportedly said that if Umno had cooperated with PN, the merger could have won a two-thirds majority in the previous general election (GE15).

"If we joined Perikatan Nasional (PN) before, it would have been easy to get a majority of two-thirds of the parliamentary seats," he added.

Both Annuar and Shahidan were excluded by Umno in GE15 due their alleged leaning towards PN.

Muafakat Nasional is also the name of a political alliance made between Umno and PAS in 2019.

Last week, Annuar was fired from Umno following criticism of party presiden, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in addition to being accused of helping out an enemy party in campaigning for GE15. - malaymail