KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Democracy Forum became the field for mature political discussion between the UMNO Youth and Parti Amanah Negara (PAN).
UMNO Information Chief, Shahril Sufian Hamdan took the opportunity of the forum to explain about its party not being represented in Sarawak.
He also brushed off the opinion of PAN’s Strategic Director, Khalid Abdul Samad, who alleged that UMNO is selfish and only prioritise on the Malays, therefore, it is not in Sarawak.
“I noted the opinion of Khalid that Sarawak is better because UMNO is not in Sarawak. I understand that.
“But why isn’t UMNO in Sarawak although the former ally of Khalid who used to rule (Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) had suggested for that to happen?” he said.
According to Shahril, the Malay politics is less relevant in the Land of the Hornbills, however, UMNO managed to overcome that shortcoming by collaborating with other existing local parties.
However, Khalid rejected Shahril’s answer by saying that his facts were inaccurate.
According to Khalid, UMNO is not only for the Malays but the most dominant party is for the Bumiputera.
“That is why UMNO is in Sabah. UMNO cannot enter Sarawak not because of the factor that UMNO is a Malay-oriented party, but it was blocked from entering the state by its previous Chief Minister.
“Amanah is proud that none of its Member of Parliament has jumped ship at the moment. All 11 people’s representatives remain loyal to the party,” he said.
Meanwhile, during the questions and answers session, a participant of the forum asked about Undi 18. Shahril agreed with Khalid’s opinion that it should be implemented immediately.
He added that an anti-party hopping law must also be created, however, its implementation is too technical to be explained in the forum. –MalaysiaGazette
