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PONTIAN: Bersatu should engage in formal discussions if it wishes to collaborate with Umno, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
The Umno supreme council member told Malay language daily Sinar Harian that Bersatu should follow clear channels, which include formal discussions through an official letter.
"If they truly wish to collaborate, they shouldn't keep raising the issue because without a formal request, how can it be discussed in Umno.
"So far, there has been no discussion at the supreme council level regarding what was proposed by Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
"If Bersatu wants to collaborate with Umno or even wishes to rejoin Umno, they should submit a letter to enable formal discussions," he told Sinar Harian.
He was speaking to the media after launching the CR4.0 Construction Revolution Tour and myDigital Contractor (MDK) programme in Benut near here on Saturday (May 3).
On Thursday (May 1), Hamzah reportedly said that Bersatu was open to collaborating with Umno as both parties shared the same ideological foundation.
He mentioned that the party was ready to form a collaboration to achieve shared goals.
Commenting on the suggestion by Umno Veterans secretary, Datuk Mustapha Yaakub, who proposed that Bersatu should return to UMNO by dissolving the party, Ahmad did not dismiss the possibility, noting that such an event had occurred before with Semangat 46 in 1996.
"Semangat 46 was dissolved by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in May 1996, before Umno's then-president, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, accepted all of its members back into Umno en bloc.
"That is a part of history that cannot be erased, showing how a party founded by Tengku Razaleigh rejoined Umno," he said.
