THE current crop of Umno ministers in the Perikatan Nasional government lack principles and are aimless for failing to heed the party’s call to resign from their posts, said Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

The Umno veteran, better known as Ku Li, said they should resign if they want to stand as Umno candidates in the 15th general election.

“Sorry to say this, but they lack principle and are aimless. They just want to hang on to their jobs (ministerial posts).  

“When people ask me what should the Umno members do, I say they should resign and get out of this government,” the Umno disciplinary board chairman told The Malaysian Insight.

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the recently concluded 2020 Umno annual general assembly said most delegates had supported the call for all ministers and members with any government posts to quit if the general election is not called soon.

The Umno president also challenged Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa to resign from his post and called him a pest and a backstabber for supporting the PN government. Annuar has been a staunch critic of Zahid and is seen as supporting Bersatu.

Zahid had said Umno ministers owe their positions to the party and should show loyalty to the party instead of their posts.

Following Zahid’s call to his members to resign from the government, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had a meeting with Umno ministers who later agreed to remain in the PN government.

As for nominating the ministers who refused to resign their posts for seats in GE15, Ku Li said he was not sure how the party leadership will deal with this.

“I feel that they (Umno ministers) don’t show any discipline,” he said.

“They don’t show any proper allegiance. So, I would cut them out and not have them back.”

The Gua Musang MP said if the Umno ministers want to stand in GE15, they should resign from their posts, come back and prepare for the election.

“They have been given jobs and they want to stick with it. Some of them think it is better to be a minister than not having anything.

“It is not just them (Umno ministers) who will lose. We (Umno) may get dragged down too.”

Ku Li said if the ministers want an election, they should get out of PN now, which will see the ruling coalition losing seats in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said Umno should then go to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and ask for Parliament to be dissolved and have an election and see what mandate the people will give.

“Let’s go back to the people and let them decide who is to lead,” he said.

Umno ministers who are in Muhyiddin’s cabinet, however, said it is too premature to quit their posts now.

Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said all this talk about asking Umno ministers to quit cabinet should stop as the AGM had decided that they will remain in government until Parliament is dissolved.

“The Umno general assembly is the highest authority in the party. Their decision is final,” Ismail said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.  

Earlier, Youth and Sports Minister Reezal Merican Naina Merican said Umno did not order ministers from the party to resign immediately from the PN government.  

Reezal, who is also an Umno Supreme Council member, said ministers from the party had responsibilities, especially now during the Covid-19 pandemic and the immunisation programme. – April 10, 2021.