KUALA LUMPUR — The Rumah Bangsa initiative introduced by UMNO has begun to receive positive feedback from political figures including former leaders of the Malay party, said UMNO Supreme Council Member Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Maslan.
He said the first meeting of the Rumah Bangsa Unification Committee, chaired by UMNO Vice President Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin last week, among other things, discussed approaches to strengthen the initiative.
Ahmad, who is also a member of the Rumah Bangsa Unification Committee, said the meeting also decided for UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to issue an official statement regarding the party’s openness to accepting back former members who had been suspended, expelled or had left the party before.
“As we are aware, the UMNO President has made a media statement stating UMNO’s openness through Rumah Bangsa to invite them back to the party, as well as inviting those who are not yet members to join the struggle for the sake of religion, race and country,” he told reporters after being a guest on a Bernama TV programme here today.
The Deputy Minister of Works said the committee’s initial investigation found that several figures had expressed support for the noble idea, although there were a few parties who had set certain conditions before considering returning to UMNO through the Rumah Bangsa initiative.
He said the committee, which consisted of 10 people, was also tasked with approaching several former key and well-known leaders to hold meetings and discussions to obtain their views on the noble idea of Rumah Bangsa as a platform for unification in an effort to strengthen the struggle of the Malays through UMNO.
Ahmad also said that the effort pioneered by Ahmad Zahid was seen as an important step to reunite Malay political power under the umbrella of UMNO as the core party of the Malays.
“The overall reception of this idea is positive… we are not forcing anyone but as assigned by the UMNO President, we will continue to try to meet and discuss.
“So far, the Committee has received several applications from UMNO figures and former leaders to join Rumah Bangsa,” he said.
— BERNAMA
