KUALA LUMPUR – After being postponed for a year following the Covid-19 pandemic, Umno delegates will finally come together this weekend at what is deemed the party’s most important general assembly to decide its direction in facing the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).
This includes endorsing its Supreme Council’s decision to no longer cooperate with Bersatu in GE15.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the motion to sever ties with Bersatu will be dominating the flow of the party’s general assembly.
“Between January 1 and 3, a total of 760 meetings convened involving Umno Youth, Puteri and Wanita members in 190 divisions, except for the suspended Tanah Merah division in Kelantan.
“The main motion raised by 124 out of 190 divisions was for Umno to have no cooperation with Bersatu,” he said in an interview with Bernama here on Tuesday.
Umno had on March 4 written to Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Bersatu president, to inform him of the Supreme Council’s decision to no longer cooperate with Bersatu in GE15, but felt that its position within the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government could continue until Parliament is dissolved.
With the many issues plaguing the country’s current political landscape, the 2020 Umno general assembly, which will begin tomorrow, is expected to be a hot affair and capture the attention of many, including political analysts who want to know the next step of the 75-year-old Malay party.
On staying with Muafakat
Apart from severing ties with Bersatu, the other possible hot topic of discussion would be Muafakat Nasional (MN), an opposition alliance that Umno had formed with PAS.
This is because PAS is now part of PN along with Bersatu, Sabah STAR, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), and Gerakan.
Ahmad said the MN issue will be the second motion to be discussed at the general assembly, before being followed by other motions on education, economy and religion.
Another issue of note is the statement from Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on March 12, which said the decision made by the Supreme Council can only be changed at the general assembly.
On this, Ahmad, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general, said no division has brought forth any motion to change the council’s decision so far.
“I have yet to hear any delegate from any division voicing their disagreement (on the motion). That has been Umno’s tradition – (only when) delegates agree are motions approved,” he said, stressing that the council’s decision was a consensus by all council members after their February 19 meeting, which lasted over six hours.
‘Umno has never been part of Perikatan’
Meanwhile, the Pontian MP also stressed that the presence of Umno and BN within the PN government is merely to support the administration led by Muhyiddin, and that they had never actually been part of the coalition.
“Umno has never been a part of PN. We only lent them our MPs to support the ruling coalition.
“It’s not suitable for us to become another component party in PN because we are already in BN, and BN has been there for so long. We have Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah in BN,” he said.
The 2020 Umno general assembly will be held in a hybrid manner, with physical attendance at the Putra World Trade Centre as well as virtually from 190 Umno divisions nationwide, except Sarawak.
It will begin with the simultaneous opening of the Wanita, Youth and Puteri meetings by deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan tomorrow, and the president’s policy speech at the opening of the general assembly on Sunday.
Under the new norm and in compliance with standard operating procedures to curb the coronavirus, no public observers or guests are invited and no stalls or food trucks are allowed to operate outside the venue throughout the length of the meeting.
For the record, the assembly secretariat received applications for coverage from 42 media organisations. – Bernama, March 26, 2021
