KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Barisan Nasional (BN) will not take action against its 10 Members of Parliament who previously supported Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to become the prime minister.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the matter had passed, and that all 10 MPs have joined the Unity Government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“I have stated that I have forgiven (them) over what happened, but I will continue with the party’s disciplinary committee to monitor the current position, or (to see) if they have made any moves.
“But I am confident that they support the current government and I believe that the mistake in the past was due to the situation at that time,” he told reporters here today.
The UMNO president was responding to a question on whether BN would take action against the 10 MPs as was believed to have been revealed during a special briefing held behind closed doors in conjunction with the 2022 UMNO General Assembly at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre, yesterday.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister said the party needed to move on from the episode.
“The decisions of the MT (UMNO Supreme Council) and BN all movements should be en-bloc, as one team. Since all these 30 (MPs) including the 10 have joined again in support, I don’t think those actions should be taken vindictively. We must move forward to chart the new reality of our country’s politics,” he said.
Regarding the ‘UMNO reset’ poster that had gone viral during the UMNO General Assembly this time, Ahmad Zahid said there was no problem for the party to celebrate differences of opinion but it should not lead to division.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), I stated that during my (policy) speech on Friday, I will outline the new direction of UMNO, which will be the backbone of BN to face the state elections, general election, and other mass movements that should regain the support of the grassroots and those who do not have any party affiliations, so that they can understand and ultimately support BN,” he said.
Earlier, Ahmad Zahid who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development launched the ministry’s pavilion and spent more than 30 minutes visiting booths under the ministry including the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL) and the Community Development Department (Kemas).
