SELANGOR Menteri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali said he pitied Umno for its desperate move in bringing back party veteran Muhammad Muhammad Taib.

He said the move by the Barisan Nasional lynchpin party was like recycling old newspapers.

“This is a desperado move. The entire Umno supreme council had to attend the press conference to welcome back an Umno hero. Very pitiful,” the PKR deputy president told The Malaysian Insight.

In an anti-climatic press conference today, Umno president Najib Razak announced the return of Muhammad, who was Selangor menteri besar from 1986 to 1997, to Umno.

Muhammad, who is better known as Mat Taib, left Umno for PAS in 2013, and then joined PKR in 2015.

His return is seen as a tactic to strengthen Selangor Umno in its efforts to win back the state.

Other leaders from PKR, which heads the state government since 2008, do not see Muhammad as a threat to the opposition, being an “old car”.

They also believe Selangor are satisfied with the current state administration.

State executive councillor Elizabeth Wong said Muhammad was not very active or helpful to the party when he was a member.

“His departure does not affect the state government because he was never active in Selangor PKR. I rarely saw him at central party meetings.

“This just shows that Najib has run out of political capital. It is like he is grasping at straws to divert the people’s attention from the current issues that burden them,” the Bukit Lanjan representative said.

Selangor PKR secretary Borhan Aman Shah described Muhammad as a faulty old car that would not be of much help to Umno.

He said PKR did not prop up Muhammad when he was in PKR because of the many scandals and that he was not well liked during his time as menteri besar.

“This is just Umno’s political gimmick. The party is desperate because it has been rejected by the people (in Selangor),” he said.

Fazly Razaly, Petaling Jaya Utara PKR division vice-chief, said Muhammad was merely an old horse with worn down teeth.

“Selangor Pakatan Harapan on the other hand has many capable leaders with sting,” said the Kuala Langat Municipal councillor.

Kelana Jaya PKR division secretary Najwan Halimi said he respected Muhammad’s decision to return to Umno.

“It does not affect us. PKR in Selangor is focused on continuing our work for the people and getting our machinery ready for the coming general election,” he said. – September 17, 2017.