Come clean over meeting at Azmin's place, urges Selangor Opposition chief

SHAH ALAM: The gathering of Umno MPs at PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali's house wouldn't be an issue at all if it was social in nature, says Selangor Opposition chief Rizam Ismail.

However, he said if the Umno MPs attended the gathering to discuss political matters involving their party and constituencies, then they were obliged to explain themselves to the Umno leadership.

Rizam, who is the Sungai Air Tawar Umno assemblyman and state party youth chief, said all matters concerning the party and the seats it held in Parliament, came under the jurisdiction of the top leadership.

"If they were attending a social gathering or some celebration not involving politics, it is up to them to do so.

"But they cannot decide on their own matters concerning their seats and politics," reiterated Rizam.

He said the MPs must clarify what actually transpired at the dinner meeting as there were at least three versions of the episode swirling around at the moment.

"Unless the matter is clarified, there is going to be a lot of speculation and a lot of possible untruths, which will not be good for anyone," added Rizam.

He urged party grassroots members who were up-in-arms over the dinner meeting to calm down and stop speculating.

He added that the matter must be handled professionally by the party leadership as it involved parliamentary seats contested and won on Umno tickets.

"These are our seats, so we must handle the matter with care," he said.

Other Selangor Umno leaders, when contacted, declined to comment, citing the sensitivity of the matter given that one of the party's top leaders had also attended the event.

Meanwhile, PKR National Youth vice-chairman Nazree Yusof said the meeting must have been held for a good reason.

"The youth wing stands by the wisdom of our deputy president and are confident there was good reason for Datuk Seri Azmin to meet the Umno MPs," added Nazree.

According to Nazree, Azmin had the strength and ability to unite and formulate a common understanding for all.

This, he added, was in line with Azmin's capacity as Economic Affairs Minister to ensure everyone enjoyed fair distribution of the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 regardless of their political affiliation.

"This is in line with our nation's new politics which does not segregate anyone," he added.

Nazree reiterated that PKR Youth was fully behind Azmin as well as the leadership of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.