KUALA LUMPUR: Umno is committed to the stability of the Federal Government and will continue to honour the unity government agreement signed after the 15th General Election (GE15), says party information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
She said the agreement was signed to establish and ensure the stability of the Federal Government throughout the 15th Parliament, with cooperation among parties based on mutual respect without erasing their respective political identities, orientations or positions.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said differences at the Federal level must be managed maturely to prevent them from affecting governance and public confidence.
"Our priority must be to ensure that the Federal Government remains stable, the reform agenda is implemented and the people's well-being remains the foremost priority until the end of the term," she said in a statement here Thursday (Aug 20).
On claims that Umno had "betrayed" Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in the recent Johor and Negri Sembilan state elections, she said the matter should not be assessed in isolation or solely based on political developments at the state level.
Azalina said such claims should be assessed calmly and responsibly, based on facts.
She said Malaysia is a federation, and political cooperation at the state level does not necessarily have to replicate the same coalition formula practised at the Federal level.
Each state has its own mandate and political realities, while voters at the state level have their own aspirations and the right to determine their preferred representatives and government through the democratic process, she said.
As such, she said, differences in strategy or cooperation in a particular state election did not, by themselves, constitute a breach of the unity government agreement at the Federal level.
Azalina also said discourse on the Unity Government at the Federal level should focus on its ability to fulfil its commitments to the people.
"The unity government must continue fulfilling its commitments to the people throughout the remaining term of the 15th Parliament, as pledged in the respective political blocs' manifestos during the last GE15," she said. - Bernama
