PONTIAN, May 3 – Umno has today called on Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia to initiate formal discussions, including submitting a written request, if it wishes to cooperate or rejoin the party.
Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the party’s leadership has never formally deliberated the proposal raised by Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin at a recent meeting.
“If Bersatu wants to cooperate with Umno, or even intends to rejoin the party, they should submit a letter so that formal discussions can be held,” he said.
“Stop bringing this up repeatedly in the media — without an official request, how can the matter be discussed formally at the Supreme level?” Ahmad was quoted saying by Berita Harian.
He stressed that such matters must be officially presented to the Umno Supreme Council for consideration, and criticised repeated public comments without formal engagement.
“There has been no discussion at the Supreme Council level regarding what was proposed by Bersatu Deputy President Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin at the recent meeting.
“In fact, previous meetings have never discussed this issue,” he added, referring to the proposed reconciliation.
He was commenting on Hamzah’s statement two days ago claiming that Bersatu was open to cooperating with Umno, noting both parties shared similar ideological foundations.
Hamzah also claimed that there have been former leaders of MIC and MCA who have registered as Bersatu members.
When asked about Umno Veterans’ Secretary Datuk Mustapha Yaakub’s suggestion for Bersatu to dissolve and return to Umno, Ahmad said such a move was possible.
He cited the example of Semangat 46’s dissolution by Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in 1996, after which Umno accepted the party’s members en bloc under then-president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“If Bersatu wishes to take a similar path, the matter will certainly be discussed at the Supreme Counci level,” he said.
