UMNO’s sudden emotional attachment to DAP which probably sprouts from being ‘indebted’ to sacrifices made by the latter for the dominant party in Barisan Nasional (BN) to earn a lifeline vis-à-vis the unity government has irked the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
As if an episode of a soap opera, Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin berated UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan for telling the untruth whereby he claimed that DAP is better than PAS which is nothing more than to solidify the party’s position in the unity government.
“A day after the 15th General Election (GE15) results, Mohamad came to my house,” the PN secretary-general commenced his story line.
“What he said was: ‘Brother, I want to inform you that if the UMNO president (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) wants to work with DAP, I will be the first person to oppose’. That’s what he told me,” Sinar Daily cited Hamzah as saying after the PN Flood Relief Donation ceremony for 8,000 victims in Wakaf Bharu, Kelantan on Thursday (Jan 12).
In fact, Hamzah went on to reveal that PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan happened to be there to witness the meeting and to listen to Mohamad’s words.
“When Mohamad mentioned that DAP is more sincere than PAS (when he opened UMNO’s women, youth and Puteri congress in conjunction with the party’s 2022 general assembly on Jan 11), I wonder what is wrong with him, I thought it was ridiculous and untrue,” shared the 65-year-old Larut MP.
“I am friends with him (Mohamad) and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob … he is just like a brother to me. I am dumbfounded by UMNO lately for they said different things before and now. I want to inform others to be careful.”
For a quick context, Mohamad had stated that UMNO would work with DAP after GE15 because the party was not two-faced and did not lie about loyalty.
The Rembau MP also admitted that it was difficult for UMNO to cooperate with PAS because the Islamist party was unfaithful, insincere and even shamelessly cheated with party fragments or UMNO’s ‘widow’ (Bersatu).
Aside from Hamzah, Takiyuddin also slammed Mohamad (or Tok Mat as he is popularly known) for claiming that PAS “wants to kill” UMNO and at the same voicing the thought that DAP is sincere towards UMNO which he regarded as an absurd statement “made under duress”.
“The fact is that the tracing of the country’s political history points to UMNO having been determined for a long time to eliminate PAS, including an attempt to ban it at some point in the past,” revealed the Kota Bharu MP in a media statement.
“On the other hand, as a party that puts Islam as its core principle, PAS is always determined and acts to approach UMNO in an effort to unite Muslims and Malays who are the majority group in this country.”
Added Takiyuddin: “Efforts to unify the ummah (Muslim community) were also initiated across people of various races and religions to create a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere through democratic channels and based on the rule of law” – Jan 14, 2023
Main pic credit: Agenda Daily
