Nazri: My loyalty is to Muafakat, not Perikatan

(NST) – Former Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz is remaining coy over whether he supports opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or the leadership of Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

While admitting he does not know what Anwar’s next move is, Nazri said Muhyiddin does not have the undivided support of the Umno backbenchers.

“What Anwar is doing we do not know but it doesn’t mean that we will blindly support Muhyiddin,” he said in reference to Anwar’s claim that the PKR president has the majority support from parliamentarians to form a new government.

Nazri, however, hinted that Muhyiddin, who is Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president, should treat Umno better in order to earn the latter’s confidence.

“He (Muhyiddin) does not need to serve us but he must tend to Umno.

“By announcing that Sabah Bersatu chief Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor would be the Sabah chief minister candidate… we did not like it,” he told the New Straits Times.

Nazri, who is Padang Rengas MP, said Muhyiddin can call for a general election if he is of the opinion that Umno is no longer relevant.

He said while Umno has several leaders who are capable of jumping ship, the party can nevertheless trust its grassroots.

“He can ask himself what he can do better by treating Umno well.

“His party has no grassroots. Even though some Umno members are like monkeys jumping here and there, you can trust the grassroots,” he said.

Nazri also admitted he had never been supportive of the Perikatan Nasional coalition which largely consists of Umno, Bersatu and Pas.

“I have always been a supporter of the Muafakat Nasional alliance and of (Umno president) Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi,” he said.

Muafakat Nasional is a political alliance between Barisan Nasional and Pas, which Bersatu was invited to join in July.