KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Umno needed to withdraw support for the Perikatan Nasional government as it would otherwise be equally responsible for policies that have harmed the country and Malaysians, said Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
In a Facebook post today, the Umno deputy president said the party was founded solely to fight for Malays and Malaysians, glorify Islam, preserve respect for royal institutions and to develop the country.
“As a political party, a clear position is very important. Without a stand, Umno just becomes a registered party, not a cause,” he said.
Yesterday, the Umno supreme council decided to withdraw the party’s support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government immediately and ask Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to relinquish his position.
Before that, however, Muhyiddin appointed Umno’s Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as deputy prime minister and senior minister, respectively.
Mohamad Hasan said the party’s decision yesterday took into consideration the nation’s ailing economy, increased poverty and suicide rates, along with how the royal institution has been “denied”.
He added that Umno must be one with suffering Malaysians instead of power and position, and he assured party members that the Umno leadership will not “slip away” from the priorities of the party, country, and its citizens.
“No individual is bigger than Umno. No figure is more important than the party and the people.
“There is no power greater than the power of the people. No struggle is more meaningful than the struggle for the ordinary people and those who have been affected,” he said.
Mohamad Hasan concluded by saying he hoped that Umno’s current stance would be the best path for the people.
In March, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declared at the party’s general assembly that the party would break with Bersatu, which Muhyiddin heads.
In the following months, speculation on the party’s stance was intense, along with infighting among some of the party’s leaders.
Despite covert meetings in the past two weeks among factions of the party, Umno proceeded yesterday with its decision to sever ties with Bersatu and PN.
