KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — The issue of Umno leaving Perikatan Nasional (PN) does not arise within the party, supreme council member Tan Sri Annuar Musa said.
Annuar clarified that Umno could not have left a coalition that is not officially registered.
“There is no issue of entering or leaving PN because Perikatan is not registered.
“How to leave (a coalition) we have not even entered?
“What is meant by Zahid (Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) is that Muafakat Nasional (MN) was established officially by Umno and and PAS and should remain as the major platform,” he said when met by reporters after a site visit to Taman Rimba Kiara today.
Annuar, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general, explained that another option is for Bersatu — which leads PN — to join MN.
“If you didn't become a member, that's a different issue.
“Umno hasn’t joined any coalition besides MN and BN, of course,” he said.
Annuar's clarification came after Zahid announced today that Umno will not join the PN coalition that controls the federal government.
Zahid reportedly said his party will instead focus on developing the MN partnership with PAS and the rest of BN.
In addition, Annuar said Umno had earlier extended an invitation to Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“Officially, I have met him (to extend an invitation to join MN),” he said.
He added that efforts are ongoing to rope in more parties into MN, particularly Bersatu and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“You can call it Perikatan Nasional later on,” he said.
When asked whether Umno's decision to 'pull out' of PN was due to former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak's conviction in the SRC International trial, Annuar dismissed the suggestion.
“Discussions have been ongoing for quite some time (to join or not to join), months ago.
“MN's first anniversary is on September 14, so we hope that a decision can be reached by then,” he added.
