SEREMBAN — The Rumah Bangsa initiative by UMNO is not coercive, but rather former members who wish to rejoin the party must do so willingly, said UMNO Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
He said UMNO’s strength lies in the party’s grassroots as a group, not individuals.
Thus, Mohamad explained that although UMNO and its component party partners in the Barisan Nasional (BN) are working with Pakatan Harapan (PH), it is only to manage the country and does not involve the party’s political agenda.
“Our alliance remains with MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS). If we want to be together, we must be together willingly, continue to fight together on this UMNO platform,” he told reporters after presenting Ramadan aid in Mambau here today.
Mohamad was commenting on claims by some former UMNO members who rejected the initiative and described Rumah Bangsa as still within the framework of the MADANI Government.
Meanwhile, he said former members who wish to rejoin UMNO must apply officially by sending a letter to the party’s Secretary-General, Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
“The application will be carefully managed by first referring to the respective divisions and states. When there are no obstacles from the divisions and states, the application will be discussed at the management committee level before being brought to the Supreme Council Meeting (MT), because the power to readmit members lies with the MT,” he said.
Last Friday, UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said UMNO had opened its doors wide to any former members who had been sacked and suspended to return to the party unconditionally.
He also recalled the event in 1996 when Parti Melayu Semangat 46 was dissolved by TC and all its members were readmitted into UMNO en bloc (as a whole) unconditionally.
— BERNAMA
