SEREMBAN: Umno will not accept any member of parties within the unity government who wish to join its ranks, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The Umno deputy president said similarly, parties in the unity government should stop accepting each other’s members.
Mohamad said allowing this to continue will lead to a free-for-all situation and put them in a difficult situation.
"It is my hope that this trend of accepting members from other parties in the government will stop today.
"Umno has never resorted to this and I, as the party's management committee chairman, will not allow it," he said when met after witnessing the handing over of a hall at SK Lavender Heights by the Public Works Department on Thursday (Aug 14).
Mohamad was asked to respond to a statement by Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki that the party will send a protest note to the leaders of the unity government’s coalition members who have either permitted or are planning to permit Umno members into their ranks.
Asyraf said the protest served as a stern warning that such moves, if left unchecked, could strain relations among coalition partners.
The move comes in the wake of recent political realignments, including Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz’s exit from the party.
Zafrul, who is Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, announced in May that he had left Umno to join PKR, sparking discontent within Umno over the perceived poaching of its members.
Mohamad said it did not make sense that the parties in the unity government were able to work with one another but were open to accepting each other’s members.
"When we form such a cooperation, a set of ethical guidelines must be established.
"We need to preserve harmony amongst us," he said.
Mohamad said the party's supreme council, which met on Wednesday night, had also discussed several cases of its members joining other parties in the government.
He said there was a proposal from the disciplinary committee to sack those involved.
"This should not be happening.
"Even if the individual wished to join another party if he or she felt there were greener pastures there, that party should not accept his or her application," he said.
He added that the meeting discussed Zafrul’s ministerial position, which was appointed under Umno’s “quota”, but said the matter was the Prime Minister’s prerogative.
"We only decided that the quota given to Umno should not be reduced," he said.
