Punishing rogue Umno leaders will backfire on party, Nazri says
(MMO) – Umno should showcase its maturity and refrain from taking action against leaders simply for criticising the party, said Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz.
The Umno minister said the party should be sufficiently realistic to accept that some forms of dissent will exist, adding that punitive action would portray Umno as rejecting freedom of expression.
“We are 70 years old; our party should be big enough to accept criticism.
“I think it is foolish on our part if we take action against these Umno leaders because it will go to show we are intolerant,” Nazri told Malay Mail Online in an interview.
He said disciplinary action should only be taken against Umno leaders in cases where they were found to be working together with the party’s rivals.
“So far this issue (rogue Umno leaders) has not gained traction…if you take action against and say sack them it gains traction and becomes a new issue.
“I hope Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is different from other Umno presidents and focuses on his policy agendas as he is getting stronger every day,” the Padang Rengas MP said.
He also said it would be hypocritical for Umno to punish some leaders but not Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the latter has been overtly critical of Najib for the past year.
