That’s what they want? Okay, says Hamzah sidestepping possible Muafakat in Melaka

KUALA LUMPUR – Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin played coy when faced with a barrage of questions on rival Umno’s cooperation with PAS in next month’s Melaka election – a development that could very well leave his party out in the cold.

In a press conference today, the Larut MP beat around the bush and sidestepped questions posed by members of the press pertaining to the matter, saying “this is a difficult question for me to answer”.

Hamzah, who is also the secretary-general of Perikatan Nasional, only reiterated what has been reported on the “renewed” Umno-PAS alliance, or Muafakat Nasional, but did not comment on his party’s stand on the matter nor its own ties with the Islamist party.

“From what I read, the Umno secretary-general (Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan) did not mention the name of my party, Bersatu.

“Based on the acceptance and understanding of laymen, what does this mean? This means they don’t want to cooperate with Bersatu.

“What I understand is only the explicit (tersurat) meaning. That’s what they want, okay. If we’re talking about the implied (tersirat) meaning, I don’t understand,” he said in a presser during his visit to the Melaka police headquarters today.

It is understood that prior to the press conference, he had a closed-door meeting with the state police contingent.

On Thursday, Ahmad announced that Umno will continue its political cooperation with PAS in contesting for the Melaka polls next month.

He said the Supreme Council agreed this is in line with the party’s aim to consolidate the Muafakat Nasional pact, which was decided during its 2020 Umno general assembly.

However, he said, PAS will be using its own logo during the election.

‘Muda is not a party’

In addition, Hamzah took a swipe at Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s Muda as not being registered as an official political party by the Registrar of Societies.

He was replying to a question from a journalist who asked if compounds have been issued to parties other than Muda, which was found to have organised press conferences related to the election.

“Is Muda a party? They were compounded? When was Muda established?

“You’re asking me this…but I’m asking you if there is a party named Muda? There is no such party.”

Muda was slapped with a RM4,000 fine for holding a press conference to announce its “debut” by contesting in the Melaka election.

Although Hamzah did not divulge details on the number of compounds that have been issued, he stressed that the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) is still in force in the whole country.

“It applies to gatherings that have breached the SOPs, regardless of party or groups that have done anything not in accordance with the SOPs.

“It is not just about the election SOPs, but also Act 342. Act 342 is still in force, whether during the election or not, and it applies everywhere.

“If there are SOPs from the Election Commission, that’s different. Those SOPs have not been announced by the commission. When they have been announced, then we will take action based on those SOPs,” he said.

On October 24, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had said that no physical activities related to elections are allowed between October 25 and November 27.

“The ministry predicts many assemblies and social gatherings related to the election will be held, involving many individuals engaged in mass gatherings nationwide,” Khairy said in a statement.

“Any social events that are held without compliance with SOPs, including physical distancing, which is hard to observe, will raise the risk of spreading Covid-19.”

Khairy said due to the high risk of Covid-19 transmissions, especially with the presence of the Delta variant, activities such as these will increase the prevalence of the virus in the community. – The Vibes, October 30, 2021