KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Umno’s Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman denounced his party peers who met PKR’s Datuk Seri Azmin Ali at his home in Putrajaya late last night.

The Opposition lawmaker said public sentiment is with the bloc now and called the 22 Umno men who went to their political rival’s house “stupid”.

“Yeah, we are united already, so why must we be so stupid to split the party?

“Our party now is gaining momentum, the support of the rakyat, and I am sure the rakyat is fed up with PH so this is an opportunity for the Opposition to move forward and try to bring down the government, which is not doing anything for the rakyat,” said Tajuddin who is a member of the Opposition party’s supreme council.

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He claimed the recent Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election outcome was a “very clear” sign that Malaysians are unhappy with the current administration.

“Rakyat is complaining, not us complaining, not Umno, or BN or PAS complaining. How many votes do we have? The votes are in the hands of the rakyat. Fifteen thousand majority, it is the voice of the rakyat,” he added, referring to the 15,086-vote lead the Barisan Nasional gained against the ruling Pakatan Harapan in last Saturday’s poll.

Asked if he was invited to attend the meeting, Tajuddin said he was not because “no one likes him”.

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The Umno veteran said that it is not right for Umno MPs to attend a meeting at Azmin’s place without informing the party leadership and president since a decision was made at the supreme council level where only the party president has the mandate to discuss matters with outsiders.

“Only the president was given the mandate to talk on behalf on the party. It all depends what transpired in the meeting. If what transpired in the meeting was party matters, Umno and the others, then it’s not quite right. It’s not right. It goes against decision of the party,” he said.

Tajuddin added that his fellow Supreme Council member Lokman Adam has strong grounds to demand that Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein be referred to the party’s disciplinary committee.

“Let the disciplinary board look into it. If there are any merits for him to be called by the board, any strong reasons for the disciplinary board to look into it, if nothing its nothing. But let the process, the procedure of the party take place. I don’t want to speculate and jump to conclusions,” he said.

Tajuddin said that if the representatives had spoken about Umno’s position and party matters or regarding BN, it means that they have turned against their own party, they should be advised against doing so and action might have to be taken against them.

Umno disciplinary chairman Tan Sri Apandi Ali confirmed this morning that several complaints have been against the 22 lawmakers that included former vice-president Hishammuddin and cousin of former leader Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He added that the disciplinary board will investigate and take necessary action if the 22 breached the Umno constitution.

It was reported that around 22 MPs from both sides of the political divide were seen to have gathered at the official residence of the economic affairs minister last night.

Among those who attended the meeting include Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar, Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Cameron Highlands MP Ramli Mohd Noor.