KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Umno Youth will not side with any faction in the party which is allegedly split into two camps, instead it will ensure that the oldest political institution in Malaysia stays united, said its chief, Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
“We are not in any cluster (camp) but Umno Youth will always ensure that the party institution is not split or seen as split,” he said briefly during the during the programme, “Minda Profesor Negara: Bicara Anak Muda Mengenai Masa Depan Malaysia: Ke Mana Kita”, via the National Council of Professors (MPN) official Facebook page today.
He said this to answer a question from the moderator who is also an MPN Fellow, Dr Muhammad Asri Mohd Ali, who said that there are two camps in Umno, namely the “court” and the “cabinet”, as well as which side the youth wing is leaning on.
Several Umno leaders are currently facing charges in court, including its president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and the party secretary-general, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan, while some of the party leaders who did not have court cases became the cabinet members.
Earlier, Asyraf Wajdi explained that in the context of Umno Youth, from the very beginning the wing has taken this approach and served as a check and balance in the government today.
“When we were in the government, of course the atmosphere was different. For youth (Umno), and for myself, I take the approach not to accept any position because for me it is important at the moment to represent the voice of youth and the voice of the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman said that the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) had yet to make any decision to join any major coalition of political parties if it was successfully registered as a political party.
“Now there is talk on a new political alignment, no one knows but honestly for myself, I want to focus on people’s issues. If there is a move to change the government... to change the PN (Perikatan Nasional), that is not my focus,” said Syed Saddiq.
He said this in his answer to Muhammad Asri’s question on Muda and its tendency towards any major coalition of political parties if Muda is successfully registered as a political party.
On January 25, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) objected to the application for leave for judicial review by Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman and 12 others to challenge the decision of Registrar of Societies (RoS) in rejecting their application to register Muda as a political party. — Bernama
