Remember that Muafakat allowed Umno to return to govt, says defiant Annuar

PETALING JAYA: Embattled incumbent Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa, who is most likely to be dropped as an Umno candidate in GE15, says he strongly believes the party cannot survive on its own in the government.

He said this was why he pushed for Muafakat Nasional, the collaboration between Umno and PAS that was formed in 2019.

It was this relationship with PAS that led to Umno being allowed to be part of the Perikatan Nasional government, he said.

He also said Umno was indebted to PAS and Perikatan linchpin Bersatu, who allowed it to be part of the government after Barisan Nasional's loss in the 14th General Election.

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At a press conference in Kota Baru on Tuesday (Nov 1), the caretaker Communications and Multimedia Minister – a fierce critic of Barisan chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi – said he was vocal because the topmost leadership had gone against party decisions.

"I am pro-Muafakat Nasional and I know lots of stories. I am keeping quiet as I do not want to create fights.

"We would not have been the government if not for PAS and Bersatu. We even won the Melaka and Johor state elections. We won all that but we forget we only had a small share of federal seats.

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"I have kept quiet all this while but it does not mean I will remain quiet forever," he said.

He also took a swipe at Ahmad Zahid for allegedly going against the party's decisions.

"I spoke up when I found out the topmost party leadership had signed a letter agreeing to Opposition leader and PKR chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the next prime minister after bringing down Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

"The ones who told the truth are the ones dropped, the ones who didn't get away. I did not support Anwar as the PM not because I had personal enmity but because it was decided by the party – 'No Anwar, No DAP'," said Annuar.

On Oct 11, 2020, a letter lit up the Malaysian cybersphere as it was supposedly signed by Ahmad Zahid and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, informing the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that Umno MPs were backing Anwar en bloc.

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As for his next course of action, Annuar said he would let the grassroots guide him and consult Ketereh Umno's 4,000-plus members.

According to Annuar, he would need to ask them before shutting down his operations rooms there, as Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim did on Monday (Oct 31) night.

Annuar is said to be among several Umno ministers and long-time MPs who will not be fielded by Barisan in GE15.