BATU GAJAH, Aug 20 — Former Perak state executive council member Datuk Hamidah Osman appears to be caught in a dilemma many other politicians can only dream of finding themselves in.

Sacked from Umno three years ago, Hamidah claimed today that the country’s biggest political party has rescinded her 2015 dismissal in a letter to her dated August 18 this year.

"I had written to them after GE14, as I saw there was a need for me to come back to Umno and help their struggle. I didn’t hear anything since then,” she told a news conference here.

She said she is now thinking about rejoining Umno, even though she has been "invited” to be a member of the country’s newest political party Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) started by its president Datuk Ibrahim Ali and Tan Sri Khalid Yunus just last week.

"I am still thinking about it and I will set up a meeting with the Umno leadership, be it the president or the secretary-general,” Hamidah said.

The former Sungai Rapat assemblyman was also formerly vice-president in PPBM, now a component of the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

She indicated that she is leaning towards joining Putra, which she believes can play the role of a fresh, strong Opposition party against the PH administration.

She also disclosed that she is one of the sponsors of Putra.

"In the past three months, I feel that Umno has not been a strong Opposition. I don’t see a strong recovery yet,” she said.

"When Datuk Ibrahim Ali invited me in, I thought this was another platform for me. Currently, we have a weak government, and we don’t have a strong opposition. We must have another fresh party to monitor what goes under the PH administration,” she added.

Putra, led by pro tempore president Ibrahim and deputy president Khalid Yunus has been touted alternative option for Malay Muslims who could not agree with the principles of the present PH government or that of other political parties.

Asked what made Putra different from Umno, Hamidah said Putra has the advantage of not being connected or tied down to allegations of corruption.

"Whenever Umno tries to bring something, they still have the image of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the 1MDB issue there. This slows them down.

"We need a new platform. We have to build the country for the future without being impeded by perceptions of scandals or corruption,” she said.

Hamidah was sacked from Umno after fiercely criticising the leadership of the party’s then president and prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and questioning the 1Malaysia Development Berhad financial scandal.

She then joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, co-founded by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, but then quit in September 2017, claiming that its weak leadership could not take her criticism.