- Joined
- Oct 30, 2014
- Messages
- 36,768
- Points
- 113
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the interests of Malays were never compromised in the cooperation agreement among political parties forming the unity government.
“When the agreement was signed by the various (political) parties, the matter was never compromised and was even deemed as the first foundation of the agreement not only for now, but for the long term,” he said in a live broadcast interview programme on NRChannel TV on Tuesday night (Dec 27).
These interests include Islam, Malay special rights, the status of Bahasa Melayu as the national language and the sovereignty of the royal institution.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said these elements were the prime concern of the coalition when negotiations were held with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
He added that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had agreed to identify similarities in the manifestos of all parties in the unity government so that their cooperation would benefit the people.
On Dec 16, the leaders of five political coalitions and parties in Mr Anwar’s government signed an MOU to support his administration.
The MOU was jointly signed by Mr Anwar who is also the PH chairman, Ahmad Zahid, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) chairman Abang Johari Openg, Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) chairman Hajiji Noor and Parti Warisan (Warisan) president Shafie Apdal.
MAHATHIR INDOCTRINATED UMNO TO HATE DAP: ZAHID
Meanwhile, when asked about the public anger over UMNO’s cooperation with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) after GE15, Ahmad Zahid claimed that the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had indoctrinated UMNO members into hating the latter.
In the live interview on Tuesday, he said: “He (Dr Mahathir) was the one who indoctrinated us for 22 years and portrayed a negative picture of the party.”
On Nov 29, after the election, Ahmad Zahid had previously said that the rejection of any cooperation with PH component parties, including DAP, was only during the GE15 campaigning period.
According to him, BN had different considerations when it agreed to work alongside PH, including how the king had decreed that a unity government should be formed given the political impasse then.
He added that the cooperation with PH did not mean that UMNO has compromised on its principles.
On Dec 19, Mr Anwar secured a vote of confidence during his first parliament session as the country’s top leader, confirming the legitimacy of his leadership and the unity government he leads. The vote of confidence was done via a voice vote only, with no call for a bloc vote.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asi...hid-barisan-nasional-mahathir-mohamad-3170806