AN UMNO leader has hit out at Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim for urging UMNO to have Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi replaced as president for the party to regain Malay support.
According to Kedah UMNO information chief Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin, Hassan should have worked together to further strengthen the unity government rather than openly criticising a president of a component party.
“I am shocked today upon reading a statement issued by a PKR MP Hassan Karim who asked for Zahid to be replaced. This is a funny statement,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Feb 1).
“First, the statement was issued out of the blue. To say that the unity government is weakening is not the case. Should it be weakening, the opposition MPs would not have joined the government in droves.
“It is because they are confident that the Zahid-Anwar partnership is strong, so they dared to join the unity government.
“Who is this Hassan Karim? I am confident that he himself is aware that he has no place in the current political sphere. Hence, probably the statement is an attempt to seek attention, spotlight from the public.”
Shaiful, who is the Merbok UMNO division chief, further slammed Hassan for claiming that Pakatan Harapan has foregone its reform agenda and asked whether the latter had failed to see the efforts undertaken by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration to weed out corruption.
“Even the large sharks that were untouchables before this, are being taken action by Anwar,” he said.
“The three most powerful Tuns in Malaysia are also shaken by Anwar Ibrahim’s progress. One Tun has stepped down from the throne, the other one no longer has command power while the third one is now wheelchair-bound.”
It is understood that Shaiful was referring to Sarawak chief minister and governor Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tun Daim Zainuddin.
“In fact, I am shocked with the statement that the unity government is getting weaker. The unity government commands support of over two-third majority (in Dewan Rakyat),” he remarked.
“When was the last time a government commanded two-third majority? It was during Pak Lah’s (Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) time!”
Shaiful went on to lambast Hassan for being a populist for arguing about the unity government’s decision to do away with pension schemes among civil servants.
“The move to do away with pension and withdrawing subsidies are reasonable based on the current economic status,” he stressed.
“The rakyat are not stupid. Eventually they will understand why the unity government rolled out the initiatives which will certainly create economic spillover for them.
“Lastly, it is better to be silent instead of doing empty talk. We in the government should work together to develop this country. Any attempt to belittle the leadership without the right basis is totally unacceptable.”
On Wednesday (Jan 31) an FMT report Hassan as calling for UMNO to have Zahid replaced as the party cannot afford to ride on Pakatan Harapan’s “fragile” coat-tails in the next general election.
Hassan said UMNO needed a fresh leader with integrity and charisma to help the party regain Malay support, which has been identified as the key factor in Barisan Nasional’s (BN) dismal performance during recent elections on federal and state levels.
According to Hassan, it would be tough for UMNO in the current situation to regain the support of Malay voters as long as Zahid remained its chief. – Feb 1, 2024
Main pic credit: Utusan Malaysia
