KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — The Pakatan Harapan presidential council should meet to set a clear guideline on whether to accept current or former Umno or Barisan Nasional leaders who are joining the ruling coalition in droves, PKR said today.
PKR communications director Fahmi Fadzil said that PH component parties should remain wary of current and former Umno/BN leaders who are now leaving their parties in droves, and that voters had given the coalition a clear mandate in GE14 to bring change through its reform agenda.
“The Presidential Council should meet to set a clear guideline on this matter.
“In the meantime, Keadilan remains firm that joining Pakatan Harapan should not be seen as a way to escape from past wrongdoings. Those who have caused Malaysia to suffer much misfortune must atone and be made accountable for their past actions,” the Lembah Pantai MP told Malay Mail when contacted.
He was responding to reports that former Melaka chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik had quit Umno to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM).
Rahim had submitted his application form, along with about 100 other forms, to join PPBM to the party’s Melaka chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof.
Abdul Rahim was the sixth chief minister of Melaka, from April 26, 1982, to October 14, 1994. He was also Umno Youth chief from 1993 to 1996.
Umno is currently in crisis as more and more members have quit the nationalist party, once the biggest in the country.
Some blame the party’s current state on Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has been charged with 46 criminal offences, and wants him to resign.
The majority of the party’s former leaders have sought entry into Parti Pribumi Malaysia Bersatu (PPBM), chaired by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after a brief period of becoming independent lawmakers.
The political musical chairs have also caused consternation among PPBM’s partners in Pakatan Harapan, notably the DAP, which has repeatedly said it wants nothing to do with Umno nor the latter’s former politicians.
