PETALING JAYA: Bersatu has challenged Umno to order its two assemblymen to withdraw support for the Selangor government if the party is serious about reviving Muafakat Nasional with PAS.
Bersatu Supreme Council member Dr Afif Bahardin said Selangor Umno, led by Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, must clarify the party’s stance before the state assembly meeting on Aug 3.
He said Sungai Air Tawar assemblyman Rizam Ismail and Dusun Tua assemblyman Johan Abdul Aziz should quit the government and join the opposition if the Umno-PAS cooperation was more than just talk.
“If MN has really started in Selangor as claimed by (former Selangor Umno chairman) Noh Omar, the important step Umno needs to take is to instruct the two BN assemblymen to withdraw their support for the state government.
“If they are truly ‘men’, announce the withdrawal of support and come sit with the opposition,” he told FMT.
Afif, who is also the Taman Medan assemblyman, questioned whether Umno still intended to back the Pakatan Harapan-led state government or align itself with PAS.
“The state assembly meeting will take place on Aug 3. Umno still has time to decide. If it truly wants to be with PAS, why does it still want to remain in the Selangor government?” he asked.
He was responding to Noh’s claim that MN ties in the state had been revived after Megat Zulkarnain, Selangor PAS commissioner Ab Halim Tamuri and several leaders from both parties met during the Negeri Sembilan election campaign.
BN and PN have an electoral understanding in Negeri Sembilan, with BN contesting 24 seats and PN 11 seats with no overlap.
Noh said the meeting marked the beginning of efforts to restore the Umno-PAS partnership, which he claimed had contributed to BN’s victory in the Semenyih by-election in Selangor seven years ago.
PH and BN formed the Selangor government after winning 34 of the 56 state seats in the 2023 election.
Rizam was subsequently appointed a state executive councillor representing Umno.
