SEREMBAN: Umno members should be brave to reprove party leaders who do wrong.
Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, however, said any such reprimand should be undertaken in a rational manner to ensure the party remained strong.
He noted there were two types of personalities in Umno: those who are so loyal to the extent of accepting mistakes committed by the leaders and those who are disloyal and will quit the party.
“So, this is a problem,” said the former Umno president after delivering a keynote address at the “My Homeland” seminar organised by the Negri Sembilan Youth Council here yesterday.
Present was Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
“But, at the same time, we should maintain the party’s strength. If we admonish but take actions that weaken the party, that is not good.”
On the political crisis in Terengganu, Dr Mahathir expressing relief that the matter was resolved quickly and that it could have been avoided through amicable discussions by the parties involved.
“Before we act, think of the implications so that no party will feel hurt. That is the best way.”
Dr Mahathir said one should understand that Barisan Nasiona (BN)l won by a slim margin in the 13th General Election, as such, it was essential to handle the political situation in a careful manner.
“If they (Umno members) do not unite, the BN government will fall. “The politics in the state should be handled with care. If two or three state assemblymen attempted to quit the party, then everything will be over for BN in Trengganu.”
In Kuala Lumpur, Besut Umno division head Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh lauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s firmness in handling the Terengganu crisis.
He said Najib’s move in not accepting the resignation of former menteri besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said from Umno and his quick solution to the problem reflected on his strong leadership.
“Overall, it reflected Najib’s firm decision in executing what he has promised.
“This incident must also be a lesson, whereby one should know that prime minister will not hesitate to act sternly when the need arises,” said Idris, who is also education minister II, after opening the 18th Malaysian Education Summit 2014 here yesterday.
In Kuala Terengganu, state secretary Datuk Mazlan Ngah denied that new Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman had declared May 17 a public holiday in the state.
He said the claim in certain blogs was misleading the public.
“May 17 falls on a Saturday, which is a weekend in the state, and there is no such thing as a public holiday.
“The blogs have also claimed that the state will get the following Sunday as a replacement holiday in default of the public holiday. This is all false,” he said at his office at Wisma Darul Iman.
He denied another claim in blogs that the state secretariat had seized the former menteri besar’s official car from his official residence in Seri Iman here.
“This is also untrue as the new menteri besar had used his personal car before we picked up the official vehicle from Seri Iman,” he said, adding that no police report would be lodged on the matter.
Mazlan, however, said he needed to clarify the issue so that the public would get an accurate picture.
He also said that the state secretariat would give sufficient time to the former menteri besar to clear his personal belongings from Seri Iman.
“There is no rush for him to do so as we understand that he is busy preparing for his daughter’s wedding.”
-NST
