Stop dreaming of a 'tepak sireh' offering, Tok Mat tells Umno members

KUALA LUMPUR :Umno Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan publicly rejected any attempts by the party to align itself with any political parties in a bid to regain power.

Mohamad, or Tok Mat, said the party needed to snap back to reality and stop dreaming about other parties inviting Umno to form a government with them.

Umno under the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had governed the country for 61 years, he said, thus it was not “a mere passenger” and would not play second fiddle to others.

"Stop dreaming that someone would bring a 'tepak sirih' to us. If anyone brings a 'tepak sirih' then we will have to see what type is it, if we are just mere passengers, then forget it.

"We do not want to play second fiddle...we have been in power and governed the county for 61 years, we can govern a country.

"Just because of one mistake, the BN government was destroyed," he said in his winding up speech at the 2018 Umno General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), here, today.

The reference of "tepak sireh" is specific to the Malay culture. It is an item traditionally brought by a man as an offering when expressing his intention to take a woman as his bride.

Mohamad's statement was seen as a direct criticism against his boss, party President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has continuously suggested that Umno was open to form a unity government with any parties interested, including those from the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

Mohamad assured delegates that Umno would rise once more so long as they changed for the better.

"Learn from our current situation now and accept the reality. It is a challenging period for us as we are on an unpredictable path, one that is difficult for us to foresee the future.

"But with our determination and confidence, I am certain we will rise once more,” he said.

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