DR Mahathir Mohammad had no intention of banning Umno as alleged by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, former party member Noh Omar said.

Noh, who was on the Umno Supreme Council member before he was sacked by the party in January, said he had met with Dr Mahathir when the latter was prime minister in 2020. Noh Omar said Dr Mahathir had instead suggested that Umno and Bersatu be dissolved to form a new party. 

“This is an untold story. I met with Dr Mahathir when he was the prime minister, at his residence in Seri Kembangan. I was there with four Umno leaders, one of whom is still in Umno and a minister today. I don’t want to mention names,” said Noh at a Perikatan Nasional (PN) ceramah in Kapar, Selangor, last night.

“At the time, it had been nearly two years since Dr Mahathir became the prime minister. We asked Dr Mahathir why he supported Pakatan Harapan and so on. 

“Finally Tun M mentioned DAP. He said if DAP were still in the government, it would be difficult for us to do anything… When asked what his plan was, Dr Mahathir said the Malays had to be united once more.

“How? He said Umno and Bersatu had to get together. That is why he proposed to dissolve Umno and Bersatu.”

Noh, who was formerly the Umno MP for Tanjong Karang, said Dr Mahathir had posted about dissolving the country’s oldest and biggest Malay party on his social media pages.
 
“Don’t tell me the prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) doesn’t know the difference between banning and dissolving,” said Noh, who has now switched sides to PN.

Anwar had recently said that Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin Yassin had planned to ban Umno after Pakatan Harapan assumed power in 2018.

Anwar said he had strongly objected to the idea, which he had discussed with the PH component parties, which also did not agree to the move.

Anwar said he had brought this up to persuade Umno members not to abandon the party and vote for PN in the state elections.

Noh last night said Dr Mahathir had wished to unite the Malays when he suggested dissolving Umno and Bersatu.

“He said unity had to be restored. He said if we (Malays) are divided, he was worried about the future of the Malays,” said Noh.

“At that moment, I wanted to shed tears because of Dr Mahathir’s passion. 

“I told Dr Mahathir that if such a thing were to happen, he would be the sponsoring president. 

“I also told him if that were to come true, he would not have to give me a post in the party because the most important to me is that the Malays must band together and continue their fight.”

Earlier, another former Umno leader Annuar Musa also denied Anwar’s claim that he had saved Umno from de-registration. – July 19, 2023.