MN still hoping for Umno’s return to the fold, says Annuar

 

Muafakat Nasional chairman Annuar Musa said Umno, under the present government, was a party without enough weight.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The leaderships of PAS and Bersatu are still keen on forming an alliance with Umno to mend fractured ties among leading Malay-based parties, former minister Annuar Musa said.

“I have sat down with both the Bersatu and PAS leadership, and the indications are very clear that they want Umno to work together to form a solid foundation.

“Umno, under the present government, is a party without enough weight,” he said at a Muafakat Nasional (MN) event in Taman Pauh here.

The original MN was a short-lived political alliance between PAS and Umno, which ended in December 2022. Subsequently, MN the NGO was formed, with Annuar as its chair.

Last month, Sinar Harian reported Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as declining an offer to “reignite” MN, saying the party wanted to focus on the present Madani government.

Earlier this year, PAS spiritual adviser Hashim Jasin said there were many who wanted to revive MN.

Annuar said Umno was not uniting the Malays, which was a major handicap because no Malay-based party could stand alone.

“When Umno can’t show it has the strength to unite the Malays, then there is a vacuum, so that is where MN comes in to unite Malay parties but also accept other races,” he said.

Annuar said if a grand Malay-bloc under MN was formed, it would advocate a harmonious coexistence with the various ethnic groups without resorting to racism or bullying.

“We believe that our nation’s foundation must be based on the unity of both Islamic and non-Islamic parties. It must be a unity that is not racist in nature. This is how this nation started, by coexisting, a formula that has worked for hundreds of years.

“However, it all depends on whether we can get a fractured Malay and Bumiputera (community) back together, united. Rest assured, we will have the back of non-Malays, too,” he said.

Relations between PAS and Umno have been strained due to disagreements over the MN charter, which they created nearly five years ago. After Umno and PAS formed MN, the Islamic party invited Bersatu to join them.

However, around that time, Bersatu also formed the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition and its relationship with Umno soured when PN candidates stood against Umno in the 2020 Sabah elections.

Meanwhile, Annuar said the six Bersatu MPs who supported Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should vacate their seats and by-elections should be held because they were guilty of party hopping.

“The six have made their stand very clear and have defied the party. That is as good as leaving the party voluntarily, which effectively leaves these seats vacant,” he said.

Yesterday, the Registrar of Societies approved Bersatu’s amendments to its constitution to tighten the rules on loyalty from party members.

While Bersatu’s leadership appears confident it can force the MPs to step down, it is not clear whether these changes to the party rules can be applied retroactively.

The Bersatu parliamentary seats in question are Kuala Kangsar, Bukit Gantang, Gua Musang, Labuan, Jeli and Tanjong Karang. - FMT