KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — Any proposal concerning the position of Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) within the unity government, as well as cooperation with PAS, must be channelled through the proper processes, including consultation, and not based solely on personal views, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said said today.
According to Berita Harian, the Umno information chief said views should be raised through the appropriate discussion platforms, including meetings of the party’s political bureau and general assembly.
“When people want to divorce, or remarry, there is an iddah period. You can’t say today you want to divorce when the declaration was already made yesterday. It doesn’t work like that.
“If you want to divorce, say it clearly and discuss it between both families — sulh in Islam. Umno, since its founding in 1946, has gone through many challenges.
“Umno’s leadership has its own wisdom. It starts with the political bureau, and then we have the general assembly next week. I think Umno has always practised consultation.
“Even if not all Umno members appear outwardly pious, we still uphold Malay and Islamic values,” she told a press conference in Putrajaya today.
Azalina, who is also minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), was responding to a proposal by Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh, who called for Umno to withdraw from the unity government and move into Opposition.
Dr Akmal had also urged Umno to quickly form a unity with PAS, anchored on a commitment to safeguard and protect religion and race.
At the same time, Azalina questioned a survey said to have been conducted by Dr Akmal regarding calls for Umno to leave the unity government.
“Was the survey conducted by Dr Muhamad Akmal, who is also the Merlimau state assemblyman, limited to Umno grassroots members, or does it represent broader views, especially those of elected representatives?
“That is his view. Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalid Nordin also said it was a personal opinion. What puzzles me is this survey of 1,800 respondents — I don’t know whether it involved elected representatives or ordinary members.
“Did he include BN state assemblymen and members of Parliament in the survey or not? We don’t know,” she said.
