KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — The 17 Umno MPs who had met with Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali in a clandestine meeting at the latter’s official residence in Putrajaya came under fire during the Umno Annual General Assembly today.
Penang delegate Datuk Omar Faudzar made a veiled reference over the meeting held on the night of November 18, and questioned their integrity as party leaders.
“If you give the excuse that the meeting was to obtain allocation, that was the same excuse that the six (MPs) who left us had given. Then another 17 went to request for allocation.
“We have only been in the Opposition for 18 months. For decades PAS and PKR were the opposition and they never once begged Umno for allocation. It’s only been 18 months of struggling. Where is the dignity of (these) Umno members and Umno leaders? There’s none!
“If you don’t have any dignity, don’t be a leader. Umno has a lot of members. The spirit of the grassroots is stronger than the leaders. We can find money too,” said the Bukit Gelugor division chief to a standing ovation by the other delegates.
Among those who had attended the November 18 meeting included former federal minister and party vice president Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein.
Omar then advised party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi not to be afraid in reprimanding those who had met with Azmin as Ahmad Zahid has the support of the grassroots, division chiefs and the delegates on this matter.
He pointed out to the hundreds of delegates who stood up to applaud his actions in blasting the party’s MPs who had met with the PKR’s deputy president.
“Datuk Seri president, you should not be afraid. You saw how many had stood behind you just now. All of them want a firm decision from you. If you want to be a leader, you must be firm. We don’t want termites in our house.
“These termites can destroy our party. We must repair our house first, if we can’t repair our home, what right do we have to speak of issues outside of our party?” he questioned.
However, at the end of his speech Omar did apologise if his statement had hurt anyone but said that the best medicine is the most bitter pill to swallow.
