KUALA LUMPUR – Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan Said has sought to quell speculations on why the party’s supreme council has not convened a meeting following the general assembly’s resolution not to cooperate with anyone except Barisan Nasional (BN) for the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).
He said there is no rush to convene the next meeting, as one was held just before the party’s assembly on March 28.
“We must be accurate with our assumptions. The Supreme Council meeting is held monthly, and the last one happened before the general assembly,” he told the press after his #SambungYangTergendala event PWTC last night.
“The question of calling a supreme council meeting requires no speculation, and the date will be determined soon.”
The #SambungYangTergendala event saw a proposal being mooted for “guaranteed living wage” among Malaysians and invited feedback from the audience.
This was the second event for #SambungYangTergendala. The previous session was held in Sg Siput, where Shahril proposed a “job guarantee scheme”.
Shahril was asked to comment on Umno president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi not convening an immediate supreme council meeting to realise the party’s delegates resolution to pull out of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and work only with fellow components of the BN coalition which it leads.
He was also queried about whether Umno would at least consider listening or inviting DAP for talks, given that the Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) leadership has reiterated the opposition pact’s willingness to work with any party – despite Umno’s refusal to work with DAP.
“We must go back to what the party decided,” Shahril said.
“The party decided that they will not work with Bersatu in the next general election, and we don’t want to work with DAP nor PKR.”
In his policy speech at the Umno general assembly two weeks ago, Zahid had said that the party’s decision not to cooperate with Bersatu ahead of the election is final.
“This decision is final, and we must put a full stop to this. This is not only the decision of the Supreme Council but is also based on the voices of the grassroots,” he had said.
On the same note, Zahid said Umno will stick to its Supreme Council stand that there will be “No Anwar, No DAP” in facing the polls, with reference to possible cooperation with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led PKR and its PH ally DAP.
Zahid had also dismissed claims that there have been negotiations with the opposition parties, maintaining that Umno will head into the election using its famous BN’s dacing (scale) logo.
A week ago, an audio recording surfaced on social media, featuring a purported phone conversation between Zahid and Anwar where the latter appeared to congratulate the former for his speech and stand taken at the assembly.
Both Zahid and Anwar have denied that the conversation took place and have announced that their officers will lodge police reports on it. – The Vibes, April 11, 2021
