Sunday, April 19, 2009

Umno members warned not to contest as independents

GEORGE TOWN: Disciplinary action will be taken against Penang Umno members who contest as independents in the coming Penanti by-election.

State Umno secretary Datuk Azhar Ibrahim said it was a stern warning as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had yet to make a decision on whether the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition would skip the by-election.

Penang Umno had yet to receive any instructions on the by-elections, he told reporters after the Yang Di-Pertua Negeri Tuan Yang Terutama Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas opened the first meeting of the second session of the 12th state legislative assembly Monday.

“As for now we have not been not told anything, and we will wait until the Prime Minister makes an announcement after the Umno and Barisan supreme councils meet at the end of the month,” he said.

The Penanti by-election came about after former Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) I Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin, who officially quit his post on April 8, vacated his seat as well last week.

On Saturday, Najib said Barisan might not contest the by-election, which he described as merely a political ploy by the Opposition.

Azhar said the by-election would be a waste of time as it would not make any difference whether Barisan won or lost.

“Currently we have 11 state seats and if we win, we will have an additional seat -- still insufficient to form the state government. So it is not going to make any difference,’’ he said.

But he said that if Barisan were to contest, the state Umno machinery would be put into place.

No comments:

Post a Comment