KUALA LUMPUR – An Umno leader has hit back at Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin after the Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general suggested that the current government is at the mercy of his coalition.
This follows Hamzah’s reported remark yesterday that Umno would not have been able to form a government without the support of PN.
He had also taken a swipe at critics who appeared to challenge his party Bersatu to withdraw support for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is vice-president of Umno.
Accusing those in Umno of being arrogant, Hamzah questioned if the party was truly prepared to face the general election in the event of a PN pullout. He predicted that Umno would not be able to secure more than 50 seats.
In response, Umno supreme council member Datuk Arman Azha Abu Hanifah today said Hamzah should look at the behaviour of his own party leaders, whom he noted had made several threatening remarks in the past that go against the spirit of power-sharing.
“They once issued a threat about pressing the button in Johor. When they dared us, and we called for an election there, look at what happened,” he said, referring to a statement by Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in November.
Speaking to the press during the Melaka election campaign then, Muhyiddin had said that those in Umno should not dare him to withdraw support for the Umno-led Johor government, insisting he was not afraid to take such an action.
This was after Umno veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Samad had challenged Muhyiddin, who is Pagoh MP, to go ahead and do so.
Shahrir had said this as Muhyiddin had earlier made a statement about ordering Bersatu’s assemblymen in Johor to “pull the plug” on their support for Umno.
For the record, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional won 40 out of 56 seats in Johor, securing a two-thirds majority.
Meanwhile, Arman also scoffed at Hamzah’s projection that Umno would not win more than 50 seats in the coming federal polls.
He questioned if the Bersatu man and other party hoppers like him would even be able to defend their seats. Hamzah is a defector from Umno.
“My question to him is: can he even win in his Larut constituency? And can the other political frogs in Bersatu win theirs?” he said.
“Hamzah is the one acting arrogant, and he shouldn’t. Don't worry about Umno. Look after your own party.”
On August 5, it was reported that PN had discussed the possibility of withdrawing support for Ismail Sabri in protest of his refusal to honour the agreement to name a deputy prime minister from Bersatu.
In response, Ismail Sabri had said that Putrajaya is ready to face a snap general election should any party pull out from the government. Several other Umno leaders had also “dared” PN to “walk the talk”. – The Vibes, August 13, 2022
