Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR: Under fire from Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for its poor track record, Selangor Umno has shot back at the former prime minister, asking him to explain Umno’s image as a corrupt party, and when the public began associating it with graft.

“We’re not saying that it began with him, [even though] he was the party president. But when did people begin to label Umno as a corrupt party? During whose era did this begin?” Selangor Umno liaison chief Datuk Seri Noh Omar said.

On Wednesday, Dr Mahathir wrote on his blog chedet.cc that Umno must shed its reputation of being a corrupt party and its leaders have to lead a moderate lifestyle.

He also took aim at Selangor Umno leaders, saying they should resign and restructure the entire chapter following disappointing results in the past two general elections.

But Noh demanded more specifics from Dr Mahathir, and wanted to know to which leader in Selangor Umno he was referring to.

“How can they step down? Everyone in Selangor Umno is a district chief, and they were elected by the party during the general assembly,” said the Tanjong Karang MP.

“If he’s referring to me, I have never lost. My majority is increasing. So who is he referring to specifically?”

Noh told The Malaysian Insider that while Selangor Umno welcomes any criticism from Dr Mahathir, the call for its leaders to step down is subjective. Dr Mahathir also accused Selangor Umno leaders of being more interested in strengthening their position instead of the party.

“Today, even if we wanted to choose a candidate for the position of state menteri besar, there are no suitable candidates,” said Dr Mahathir.

“This would not be an issue if Selangor Umno was prepared to accept new members but it will not happen as Selangor Umno leaders are afraid of being challenged.

“They are afraid that the entry of fresh members might cause them to lose their positions or not be nominated to stand as candidates in the general election,” Dr Mahathir said.

But Noh denied this and said the Selangor chapter is always open to new members.

“If he can be specific [and tell us who] was rejected, then we will know. As far as we know, we are open to everyone,” said Noh.

Dr Mahathir’s criticism comes a few days after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak spoke about how “embarrassed, tired and humiliated” he was that Barisan Nasional is the opposition in Selangor. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 7, 2014.

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