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22 December 2018
By SHAMSUL AKMAR / Pic By TMR File 
At THE rate the Sabah Umno lawmakers are scrambling to disassociate themselves from the party and quickly pledging their support for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and contrast it with the events leading to the May 9 general election, everything seems surreal.
And add that to the manoeuvrings of Umno leaders and lawmakers in the peninsula, who have been meeting Dr Mahathir behind the back of their colleagues, that surreal feeling is amplified.
After all, these were the very people who bent backwards to demonise Dr Mahathir, the vitriol they spewed on him that bordered on uncouth and contemptuous for his efforts to put an end to Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak’s kleptocratic rule.
Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that some of those who had supported Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan to the epochal victory are squeamish, if not nauseated, when looking at the current development.
Others are wary and the less compromising are even demanding that Dr Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan components stay away from Umno/ Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders and lawmakers or risk ending up as Umno or BN 2.0.
Their concerns and discontent are not unjustified and not to be dismissed flippantly. But to dismiss the conciliatory overtures from Umno leaders would not be politically wise.
After all, in the case of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, the majority of them were Umno members and their formation was to win over Umno members.
Of course, this narrative was for the pre-14th General Election days. But shouldn’t the same narrative apply before the next 15th General Election?
If Bersatu is set up to replace Umno, it will not be able to do so if it cannot continue to win over the latter’s members, regardless of whether they are MPs or ordinary members, and whether those leaving Umno today will only become aware of the futility of supporting the party seven months later.
Whether Pakatan Harapan likes it or not, Umno managed to come out as the largest Opposition party.
If Bersatu is unable to neutralise Umno within the next few years, what is stopping Umno to regain its footing and find its way back within the nation’s power structure?
That being the case, why should Bersatu partners be opposed or upset if Umno is negated with their leaders and members making a beeline to Bersatu.
Surely, it is to Pakatan Harapan components’ comfort to see that with these developments, Umno that they abhor will not find it easy to return to helm the nation.
Roping them in will weaken a party that is still defending plunderers, racists and now, even attempting to strike a partnership with a religion peddling party.
If they were racists or defenders of the plunderers, they would have to change their tune with Bersatu or any of the Pakatan Harapan parties.
The fear of them hijacking Bersatu’s and Pakatan Harapan’s agenda is quite impossible unless the leaders of the government coalition choose to allow it. But why should they, as by doing so, they will be rejected in the next general election by a populace that have been awakened and are aware of the power of their vote.
What is probably important is for Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan to hold on to certain measures when dealing with Umno leaders. For one, it should not come across as providing those mired in scandals, abuse of power and corrupt practices when they were in power, a lifeline.
And surely, those who are already in the tow to be charged or being investigated for these misdeeds will not be allowed to fill up any of the membership forms, let alone consider their applications.
By now, the list of the obvious suspects is already easily identifiable and they should be kept out without any consideration until and unless the investigating bodies clear them.
With these lawmakers and leaders abandoning Umno, it will allow new blood to take over and if they have a bit more sense than their predecessors, they will realise that if Umno persists in its current form, it will eventually be written off.
And if the new batch are those without baggage, they should rebrand, rehabilitate and start practising to be an effective Opposition. Who knows, they may still find a way to relevancy, though it may be a long, lonely and arduous road. That is their story to write.
For now, it is Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan’s story of dealing with the din and the crowd, the conjectures and manoeuvrings, the opportunists and the rogues, backstabbers and glory seekers, and the list is definitely unexhaustive.
They, however, colour the nation’s political landscape and definitely a story worth telling. The conclusion has yet to be written though.
https://themalaysianreserve.com/2018/12/14/the-sinking-of-a-ves
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16 December 2018
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Written by by joceline tan
Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein are allegedly the hidden hands behind garnering support for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
PETALING JAYA: The spate of resignations that has almost crippled Umno is a result of a proxy “Mahathir-Anwar war” between groups in the party – one in support of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Prime Minister and the other that wants to see Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim move up.
Umno supreme council member Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad said the disagreement between the Umno sides came to a head when the pro-Anwar group began openly canvassing support for him to become the 8th prime minister.
Alwi, who is also Kelantan opposition leader, said the pro-Mahathir group is led by Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin while the pro-Anwar group is headed by Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Hamzah is staunchly opposed to Anwar becoming prime minister.
As such, the Hamzah group is not so much about supporting Dr Mahathir as it is about stopping Anwar in his tracks.
With the help of Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is also opposed to Anwar, Hamzah managed to persuade 38 Umno MPs to sign statutory declarations in support of Dr Mahathir if anyone brings about a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister in Parliament.
“There was no intention among them to resign from Umno or to join Bersatu. None are interested,” said Alwi.
However, Alwi said that sometime last month, Padang Rengas MP Datuk Nazri Aziz began meeting division leaders in the Klang Valley to persuade them to support Anwar.
Nazri had reportedly said to them that if Anwar were to become the prime minister, there will be no witch hunt against Umno leaders.
He said the MACC would not be used to suppress the opposition as it seems to be happening now.
He also assured his listeners that Anwar would not deregister Umno and there would be equal allocations for government and opposition wakil rakyat.
Many in Umno believe that Nazri’s latest move is linked to whispers and rumours that something big would take place at the March meeting of Parliament to propel Anwar forward.
Nazri met eight Umno divisions. His latest with the Ampang Umno division ended in a fierce commotion.
The Umno Youth leaders criticised him for asking them to support Anwar, which they said were nothing short of cooperating with DAP.
They said even though DAP was prepared to accept ex-Umno leaders, they would never accept that party.
Nazri’s open campaign for Anwar infuriated Hamzah, who then decided to take things to another level.
It is understood that a secret meeting was convened at Hishammuddin’s house in Ampang last weekend. Among the attendees were Hamzah and PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
How and why Azmin is involved in this made-in-Umno drama is unclear but he has emerged as a trusted figure in Mahathir’s circle.
A few days after the meeting, the resignations in Sabah began, followed by more in the peninsular.
“I see it as Hamzah’s way of warning the Umno leadership to stop the alliance with Anwar,” said Alwi.
Hamzah has not only threatened to spark off more resignations from Umno, he is also demanding that Dr Ahmad Zahid steps down as Umno president.
Dr Ahmad Zahid has shown no sign of caving in to the demands. He is, after all, a democratically-elected president.
A supreme council meeting, scheduled for this evening, has also been called off. The cancellation is widely seen as an attempt by Dr Ahmad Zahid to buy time to seek an amicable solution.
But the pressure is not easing. Former Umno Youth chief and Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin is crying out loudly for Dr Ahmad zahid’s ouster.
Yesterday, Khairy tweeted again: “Step aside sir. It’s time.”
Khairy, once labelled as kambing hitam or black sheep by Dr Mahathir, has also lashed out at Hishammuddin as geng bangsawan (aristocratic gang)
Political commentator Dr Azmi Omar described the debacle that Umno was going through as a “perfect storm”.
“It is ironic that Umno is facing so much trouble because of another round of Anwar versus Mahathir,” said Dr Azmi.
It is obvious that Anwar is closely following the proxy war in Umno. He tweeted yesterday: “Lots of political intrigue discussed in #Twitterjaya this week”.
Alwi said he was also approached by Hishammuddin a few months ago over the same issue.
“I was invited to his Ampang office for lunch. I arrived late. There were already more than 30 Umno leaders there. Then, he met us one at a time – no phones allowed.
“He wanted to know if we were to choose between Anwar and Mahathir, who did we prefer,” said Alwi.
Incidentally, Alwi told Hishammuddin that he trusted Dr Mahathir more than Anwar.
“But that doesn’t mean that we want to join Bersatu. Why should we? Umno is a big party with a long history. We can recover if we are united and focused.”
Umno’s political tug-of-war has left the Youth wing fed-up.
Its deputy Youth chief Shahril Hamdan said the wing was not interested in taking sides between Anwar or Dr Mahathir.
“Right now, it seems the best political minds in Umno are invested in trying to capitalise from any alleged split in the government rather than focus on good old politics – policy, inspiration, sentiment and charisma,” he said.
Shahril warned against falling into the trap of “my opponent’s weakness is my strength”.
“Even if the rakyat is falling out of love with Pakatan, we are not even in their consideration, especially when we seem more interested in convenient mergers and backdoor dealings.”
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15 December 2018
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https://twitter.com/NPeriasamy5/status/1073736058653704192
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The StarVerified account @staronline
Nazri claims Umno can cooperate with Anwar, bypass Dr M
PETALING JAYA: An Umno faction is allegedly paving the way for a “unity government” with ruling parties PKR and DAP.
And the man in the driver’s seat is said to be Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (pic).
This follows the exodus of most of Sabah Umno’s leaders on Wednesday (Dec 12).
Then came the allegation that the defectors are set to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) – a component of the ruling Pakatan Harapan government.
According to a report by The Malaysian Insight, Umno sources revealed that Nazri has been travelling all over Malaysia to hawk the plan to division chiefs.
As the biggest Opposition party, Umno still has 43 seats in parliament, though its numbers are dwindling steadily.
Another Malaysiakini report stated that Nazri has turned to PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister-in-waiting, to ensure the survival of his party.
Nazri claimed that efforts to negotiate with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad have not gone well, as the Prime Minister wants Umno to be dissolved before any cooperation can be done. This has led members to worry that Umno might be deregistered.
Nazri, who is also Padang Rengas MP, had detailed his alleged discussion with Anwar during a speech to Selangor Umno members on Wednesday night.
“It is nothing new, it is an open secret that most (Umno MPs) want to be part of the government… there is nothing sinister there,” he told Malaysiakini.
Nazri had told the members he met Anwar in the second week of the last Parliament sitting with four requests, which Anwar had supposedly agreed to.
Top of the list was for Umno to not be dissolved, to which he claimed Anwar had responded as follows: “Nazri, I will not dissolve Umno. We must be sporting in politics. How can we fight if our opponent is de-registered? We must be gentlemen.”
His second request was for Anwar, when he becomes Prime Minister, not to “harass” Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
“I told him (Anwar). Whatever wrong he (Najib) has done, charge him. But don’t harass him… by imposing bail on him so many times.”
Nazri claimed that then Anwar said, “I have gone through this (court charges and imprisonment) for 20 years. I don’t want my enemies to suffer that way, what more my friends.
“Najib was my deputy (when I was Umno Youth chief), and (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad) Zahid (Hamidi) was once my ‘macai’ (lackey).”
His third request to Anwar was to restore the “ketua kampung” (village chief) system, while the fourth was for Umno MPs to receive the same allocation as government MPs so that Umno can “give to the people”.
In exchange for Anwar fulfilling the four requests, Nazri professed that Umno MPs will throw their support behind Anwar when he becomes prime minister in “one and a half years”.
He stressed, however, that the Umno MPs will only be “government-friendly” and not part of the government administration.
“We don’t want to be in the Cabinet. It would be difficult for us in the next election if we did,” he was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying.
“We want to contest Bersatu (Amanah and Warisan) seats, we want our seats back, so we must fight them. So we can’t be ministers with them.
“We would only be a bloc that supports government policies which benefit the people,” he said.
Nazri also claimed Anwar told him that with PKR, DAP and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, the latter would have 110 seats in Parliament.
“So he told me, ‘I only need two more. If I add you (Nazri), and you find one more guy that’s 112, so I’m the prime minister’.”
Nazri also averred that Anwar was hinting he did not need Amanah, Bersatu, or Warisan to form the government.
He said Anwar had supposedly told him he will abide by Pakatan Harapan’s agreement for him to succeed Dr Mahathir only after two years.
According to Nazri, the conditions set by Dr Mahathir (for cooperation with Umno) were too stiff, hence it was only natural for him to approach Anwar as the future prime minister.
“So what we have to do now, is just to sit and wait (for Anwar to become PM),” he added.
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https://twitter.com/anthraxxxx/status/1073557155658100736
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The StarVerified account @staronline
Anwar: PKR reluctant to accept Umno defectors, reform the priority
Thursday, 13 Dec 2018
KUALA LUMPUR: PKR shut its doors to former Umno members intending to cross over because it wants to maintain the principles of its struggles for the reform agenda, says party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar acknowledged that PKR had been approached by several former Umno members, but said he decided to “delay” their plans to join as members because Pakatan Harapan already has a good majority in the Parliament.
“Whether to quit or to remain in Umno, that is their right. For PKR, there were several ‘offers’, but I decided to ‘delay’ it because we already have enough majority.
“Second, because the people have supported Pakatan, that is why we want to defend the integrity and the principles of our struggles so it will not hamper the change that we wish to achieve,” he said.
Anwar also acknowledged that the public may feel uneasy about Barisan Nasional leaders having backdoor meetings with Pakatan leaders over the intentions to cross over, but said such meetings and having a cordial relationship should be encouraged.
“Although some people expressed displeasure about the meetings, which I don’t understand, (but) to me, meeting and having a cordial relationship should be encouraged.
“I made it clear to them, you can remain in your party, or be independent. But it would be difficult at this juncture for us to accept (them) because the general mood of the public is to support Pakatan and our reform agenda,” he said.
When pressed, the Port Dickson MP refused to divulge the names of these former Barisan leaders, saying that it isn’t proper because he does not intend to consider allowing them to join as members.
“But I do appreciate the fact that they approach and I made it very clear to them that we are a party committed to reform.
“We fought in the elections together against a corrupt government and therefore you must allow us to pursue this without any hindrance.”
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PETALING JAYA: Following the departure of a number of Sabah Umno’s elected representatives and division heads, party leaders from the peninsula are said to be preparing their exit to join the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition.
This may result in Umno being pulled apart in different directions.
“Those who are waiting to join Pakatan are watching what each Pakatan component party can offer in terms of position, stability and allocations,” said an Umno source.
“Many, however, are keen to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) as this is the party of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself and it is most similar to Umno.”
The source added that those who want to switch parties fear that if they jump to Bersatu now, they may be sidelined by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim later.
“Soon, there will be a breakup of Umno, with the leaders moving in three main groups. One will be led by former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and current deputy Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan into Bersatu, while another faction, headed by Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, will join PKR. The rest will stay on in Umno under its president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Nazri, the Padang Rengas MP, agrees that many top Umno leaders want to join Pakatan, but said that he wanted to join the coalition as an Umno member.
“Yes, it is true there were talks between Pakatan and Umno leaders, but this was to ensure that Umno will not be deregistered.
“Some of us went to see Dr Mahathir and proposed that we join Pakatan, but his condition was too stiff for us. He said for us to join Pakatan, we must deregister Umno. The grassroots still want Umno and we could not do that,” said Nazri.
“So, I went to meet Anwar. As we know, the Pakatan agreement is Dr Mahathir will pass the baton to Anwar. We proposed a unity government between Umno, PKR and DAP.”
According to Nazri, Anwar wanted to wait until he becomes prime minister before deciding on this proposal.
Nazri added that although he wants to remain in Umno, if the party were to be deregistered before Anwar took over as prime minister, he would then likely join PKR.
“How can I join Bersatu because it will be them who got Umno deregistered?” he said.
A photograph of another meeting between Dr Mahathir and a few Umno leaders last October went viral yesterday.
The Umno leaders in the photo were Mohamad, treasurer Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Tanjung Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar, Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin and Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim.
“There will be a historical event happening soon,” Shahidan told Sin Chew Daily, adding that if Perlis Umno leaders crossed over to Pakatan, the Barisan-led state government would collapse.
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