Tajuddin says Umno unable to function as Opposition after prolonged asset freeze

PETALING JAYA, Dec 30 — Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said Pakatan Harapan government's move to freeze Umno’s asset has hampered the party’s effort to function as the Opposition.

The Pasir Salak MP told Free Malaysia Today that the authorities should quickly determine if there was any truth to claims of the party funds being linked to 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

“Pakatan Harapan is cruel in freezing our funds. Investigate quickly lah. Why are they taking so long?” he told the online news portal.

He said the government was clearly not being fair to Umno which wanted to function as a proper Opposition party and carry out proper checks and balances as part of the democratic system.

“Why does PH want to penalise us? For what? We are just asking for our role to be respected.

“The government should not concern itself with criticism from the Opposition if it was doing its job well.

“The problem is, it is not confident about itself,” he reportedly said adding that Umno’s funds were being withheld because the government was concerned with criticism from the Opposition as it was not doing its job well.

Cash-strapped Umno had previously announced that it will open its Institut Latihan Memperkasa Ummah (Ilmu) in Janda Baik to the public in a bid to generate funds for continued operations after its bank accounts and assets were frozen as part of ongoing criminal cases.

In July, Umno’s legal bureau head Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said the party has assembled a legal team to sue for the return of RM117 million the party deems as political funds that police seized from former Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.