Don’t talk about internal party politics in the Dewan Rakyat, says Zahid

Malaysia – Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the president of Umno, said on Sunday that the internal concerns of the party should not be debated during the motion of gratitude for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s presentation in the Dewan Rakyat.

According to him, he believes that the best place to address these matters inside Umno is during the party’s own Supreme Council meeting.

“While I accept individual perspectives, the party’s position must be honored. The party has not taken a position, and this position will be debated at a later date,” he told the reporters at the Parit Keroma District voting center in the Maharani state seat.

Ahmad Zahid was responding to a speech in the Dewan Rakyat that has been recently delivered by Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, in which he was claimed to criticize the Deputy President of Umno, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan for asking the 15th General Election (GE15) to be conducted sooner.

Although MPs have immunity to speak on a variety of subjects in the Dewan Rakyat, Zahid believes that internal party matters should be handled in the proper venue.

Meanwhile, Zahid, who is also the chairman of the Barisan Nasional (BN), voiced his confidence in the potential of the coalition to win enough seats in the Johor state election to create a new government.

He also hoped that the repeated attacks against BN and its candidates in the elections would not sway Johor voters.

“We are aware of persistent accusations that are aimed not just at our products, specifically BN candidates, but also at national concerns in order to discredit us. It was something that we had anticipated. However, we have faith in the judgment of the Johor voters,” he continued. The voting day has been scheduled for March 12 by the Election Commission