Report: Umno must purge self-serving members from its ranks, says party veterans group chairman

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — Umno must purge from its ranks those who put themselves before the party and its future, the chairman of Veteran Umno Malaysia has reportedly said.

Datuk Othman Desa, however, admitted to Sinar Harian today that this won’t be easy as any such move must be carried out in accordance with the party’s constitution and rules to prevent factions emerging within Umno ahead of the general election (GE15).

“Within Umno, there are many leaders and differences of opinion that have to be handled with care. The most important thing is to not betray the party or its causes or to do anything that will weaken the party.

“If you are part of Umno, you must speak for Umno, and not others. It is sad when the words and actions of our party leaders sometimes weaken the party itself,” he was quoted as saying.

Othman also reportedly advised those who are angry with individual Umno members not to blame the party and for those who have lost their way to return to the party’s principles so that members can unite for GE15.

Besides that, he reportedly expressed support for a party purge, adding that Umno must stand strong as a party that upholds religion, race, and country.

Sabotage within Umno must be nipped in the bud because it was a form of betrayal against the party, he added.

“Because of that, this must be resolved before GE15. (Leaders) who are wrong must be punished... Leaders come, and leaders go.

“Umno must continue with its fight and cannot make the same mistakes again. Regardless of whether they are in government or not, Umno leaders must be on the same page in remaining as strong as possible for the party to move forward and win GE15,” he was quoted as saying by the Malay language daily.

Othman was reportedly referring to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s comment that he wanted to begin cleaning up Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) soon.

Sinar Harian had reported Ahmad Zahid as saying: “We do not want a fox in the chicken coop. The fox must be made to leave. We do not want a dead rat in our well. We cannot drink water from a well that has a dead rat in it.”