PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad described Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed’s departure from Umno as something that the former international trade and industry should have done earlier.
“Umno is already damaged. He (Mustapa) should have left earlier.
“A bit late though. But he has left, that is fine,” he said.
Asked on his view should Mustapa want to join Pakatan Harapan, Dr Mahathir said it would be up to the former U mno leader.
“But he has not said so. (If he is interested), he has to prove that he is different than before,” he said after the Malaysia Franchise Awards programme on Tuesday night.
It was reported that Mustapa left Umno after spending more than 40 years in the party.
The Jeli member of parliament said he believed that Umno’s direction and his political principles were no longer aligned, hence his decision to quit the party.
He said he was not convinced that Umno’s rejuvenation had begun.
Mustapa, who was Kelantan Umno liaison commitee chairman, said he, like many others, had after the 14th General Election observed the Malaysian political landscape, Umno’s and Barisan Nasional’s direction as well as the future of the country.
Based on developments, he said it would be difficult to repair the “trust deficit” and the party’s image.
There were no signs, he said, that the majority of the multiracial community would return to the party’s struggle.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak weighed in on the much-talked about cooperation between Umno and Pas.
Saying there was nothing wrong with such a cooperation, Najib said that this was because both parties were in the opposition.
“DAP and PKR too had cooperated with Pas when they were the opposition,” he said on Facebook yesterday.
However, the former Umno president said the struggle for Malays and Islam would not be complete without fighting for all Malaysians, regardless of race and religion.
On his successor, Najib said Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should be given room and trust to chart the course in strengthening Umno and its direction.
It was the first time Najib has issued a statement on the cooperation between Umno and Pas.
The PAS muktamar in Terengganu was historic as it saw the attendance of Zahid as well as other Umno leaders.