No room in Umno for Mukhriz, say party leaders

September 11, 2024

No room in Umno for Mukhriz, say party leaders

PETALING JAYA: Two Umno leaders insist that the party will not allow Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir to rejoin the party.

Mukhriz was dismissed from Umno in 2016 after the Supreme Council decided that he had breached party discipline by sharing the stage with opposition leaders and constantly attacking Umno.

Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi said he disagreed with Mukhriz’s recent statement that he didn’t want to return to Umno as the party wanted to free ex-prime minister Najib Razak from prison.

Last Saturday, Mukhriz said he would not return to Umno even if Ahmad Zahid Hamidi no longer helmed the party.

“Actually, Mukhriz is too embarrassed to return to Umno, not because of (his) principles but because Pejuang itself is almost extinct. Even his father (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) has lost faith in it and has left the party,” Puad told FMT.

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“Pejuang tries to be closer to Perikatan Nasional (PN) but I am confident that PN will reject them. For Umno, accepting Mukhriz will not give the party any added value.

“On the contrary, it will give Umno a negative image, especially in Kedah. It’s difficult to accept a leader who is his dad’s robot.”

Puad, who is also the Rengit assemblyman, jokingly suggested that the former Kedah menteri besar could stay relevant by replacing his father as adviser to the four states governed by PN (SG4).

Meanwhile, Umno Supreme Council member Razlan Rafii said that Umno did not need individuals who only cared about their personal interests.

“Like Mahathir when he founded Bersatu… He thought that it belonged to him,” said Razlan.

“Mukhriz also thought that Pejuang was his. Umno does not belong to any particular family, so it seems appropriate that he (Mukhriz) establish a party with his own family.”