SHAH ALAM: Selangor Umno Youth has described Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz's decision to resign from Umno and join PKR while remaining in Cabinet as irresponsible and disappointing, Sinar Harian reports.
Its leader, Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin, said that such an action should not be emulated and does not set a good precedent in the country's political practices, the Malay language daily reported.
"His position in the Cabinet was previously based on his capacity as a senior Umno leader. When he leaves the party and joins PKR, he should also step down from his government position," he told Sinar Harian.
Selangor Umno Youth also urged the Umno leadership to maintain the number of ministers and deputy ministers from the party in the unity government Cabinet.
"We want the number of ministers (seven) and deputy ministers (five) from Umno to be retained.
"This is important to maintain the party's voice in the government," Imran stressed further in a press conference late Monday (June 2) night.
Previously, it was reported that Tengku Zafrul had submitted his resignation letter from Umno to join PKR.
He also confirmed that the resignation letters as a member of the Umno supreme council, Kota Raja Umno chief and Umno member have been submitted to the party leadership.
In addition, Tengku Zafrul confirmed that he had expressed his intention to join PKR to its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and secretary-general Fuziah Salleh.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zafrul also expressed his gratitude to Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and fellow party members for their support and encouragement throughout his involvement in Umno.
