Bersatu not hypocrites for working with DAP, unlike Umno, says Faizal
“History shows that some decisions were made to prevent greater harm to the country, requiring (rival parties) to work together.
(FMT) – Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu says the party worked with DAP during GE14 to ‘save the country’ from the Najib Razak government.
Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu has rejected accusations that his party’s previous collaboration with DAP makes them hypocrites for criticising Umno’s current alliance with that party.
Instead, he said, the pact Bersatu had with DAP and other parties in Pakatan Harapan in 2018 was necessary at the time to “save the country” from Najib Razak’s administration.
“History shows that some decisions were made to prevent greater harm to the country, requiring (rival parties) to work together.
“That was what Bersatu did when it was first formed. We worked with DAP, Amanah and PKR to topple Najib’s kleptocratic government,” Faizal said in an interview with FMT.
However, the former Tambun MP said Umno’s leaders were clearly going against its general assembly’s “No Anwar, no DAP” stand by working with DAP in the present Anwar Ibrahim-led unity government.
He said this has offended Malay voters, who had hoped that Umno would stand up for the community’s rights.
“(These members) were also hoping for change at the party’s elections, but that did not happen. Umno has now become a party dominated by one or two leaders who determine its direction,” he said.
Bersatu, then led by Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was formed in 2016 and joined PH several months after its formation. The party’s withdrawal from PH was a key factor behind the collapse of the PH government.
Last year, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin accused DAP chairman and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng of sabotaging the Bumiputera agenda by directing the closure of Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (Ekuinas), a private equity fund management company set up by Putrajaya.
Muhyiddin, who was the home minister in the PH government, also accused DAP of compromising on national security to further its political interests, leading to the arrest of several DAP members over alleged links to Sri Lanka’s now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
‘Let’s not quarrel over SEA Games performance’
Meanwhile, Faizal defended youth and sports minister Hannah Yeoh from criticism over the country’s poor showing at the recent SEA Games in Cambodia, where the Malaysian contingent failed to achieve its 40-gold medal target.
Faizal, a former youth and sports minister, said Yeoh is only six months into the job and still has many things to understand and implement in the ministry.
“The issues didn’t just crop up when Yeoh became minister. It was present when Khairy Jamaluddin, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Reezal Merican Naina Merican and I (helmed the portfolio).
“For the sake of our love of sports, and for us to raise the Jalur Gemilang at the world stage, let’s not quarrel. We must support all the sports associations and ensure they can function well.
“(We must ensure) Yeoh and the national sports council are able to carry out their responsibilities well,” he added.
Recently, Yeoh said Malaysia’s dismal medal haul at the SEA Games in Phnom Penh was the result of multiple changes in government over the past few years.
Malaysia finished seventh in the 11-country regional games with 34 gold, 45 silver and 97 bronze medals.
