KUALA LUMPUR: Padang Renggas lawmaker Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has denied rumours that he will leave Umno, insisting that he will remain with the party that his grandfather and father helped built.
“I will stay with Umno until I die. My father (Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Yeop) and my grandfather helped build the party.”
“I am sticking to (Tun) Dr Mahathir’s (Mohamad) advice to me when he was Umno president... that we should never abandon the party,” he said, when asked if he would leave the party.
Nazri’s name was among 17 in a viral list of MP’s that were rumoured to quit the party.
The list was spread on the heels of the twin exit of Jeli and Kimanis MPs, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Tan Sri Anifah Aman.
Nazri however admitted that some Umno members were “frustrated” with the new direction taken by the current leadership, especially on the alliance with former rival Pas.
“I do believe if we have a clear direction, where we are headed to... I don’t think they will leave.
"For me, I think many are quite frustrated with the party's direction of working with Pas.”
Asked if the twin exit was a referendum against Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s leadership, he replied in the negative.
Nazri said the cooperation with the Islamic party has been discussed in the Umno supreme council meeting where many agreed that it was the way forward.
However, he believed such move did not resonate well among leaders such as Tok Pa and Anifah who were considered to be moderate.
“It’s difficult for Tok Pa as a Kelantan leader who had fought against Pas in the state.
“The same goes with Anifah because in Sabah, things are much more relaxed where Muslim families can have Christian relatives and so on.
Nazri said he too was unhappy with the party’s increasing right wing slant but said he owed it to his constituents and division to see things through.
“It is important to know that even though we are in Umno, we are Malaysian first. I myself consider myself a Malaysian first.”