Its head Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who confirmed this to FMT, said the delegates at the annual general meeting on Friday had unanimously decided that it would be in the best interest of Umno and its reputation to leave the ruling coalition before the party is also blamed for the failure of PN to govern properly.
In a strongly-worded resolution which was sighted by FMT, the division described the coalition’s top leaders as untrustworthy and who have no qualms about ditching their allies for power.
“These senior PN leaders were the same ones who worked with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to bring down the Umno-led Barisan Nasional in the 14th General Election (GE14).
“After that, it was this same set of leaders who became traitors and played their friends out in PH to cause its downfall, resulting in 22 months of torture for Malaysians.
“Now after 10 months of being in the leadership while riding on our backs, we see their insincerity. We can see their connivance, moving quietly and openly attacking Umno, from all angles, proving their dishonesty and not one of a loyal partner,” it said.
The resolution added that PN’s incompetence had Umno worried at the way the country was being managed as well as the failure to address issues faced by the rakyat.
“We fear Umno will be made the black sheep for their failures. Therefore, the time has come for us to part and continue our political battle in the spirit of Barisan Nasional (BN).
“With this, we also resolve that the traditional Parliament seat of Pulai and Kempas state constituency be contested by Umno/Barisan Nasional in the next (general) election,” it declared.
Nur Jazlan, who is also Johor Umno deputy chief, said PN needed them most for the support of all Malaysians but added Umno would lose the non-Malay votes in the process.
“So it is better for us to look at other options like PKR or DAP to secure the non-Malay votes,” he said.
Asked on the fate of Umno’s pact with PAS in Muafakat Nasional (MN) if it leaves, Nur Jazlan said the partnership would surely collapse.
“Anyway PN is made up of PAS, Bersatu and two insignificant Sabah parties. It is very lopsided and it cannot get non-Malay support in Sarawak too.
“If Umno stays with PN, we would be lending them votes but lose the non-Malay votes because they have rejected PAS and (Prime Minister) Muhyiddin Yassin’s PPBM,” he said.
Nur Jazlan said the PN govt was proving to be incapable of handling many more issues now and even in managing the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added that PAS ministers and the Kedah menteri besar were being seen as incompetent by the public.
“Muhyiddin unilaterally decided on the Emergency move, without even discussing and getting the permission of the largest party Umno.
“This resulted in BN getting blamed for the failure too,” Nur Jazlan said referring to a proposal by the prime minister in October that was rejected by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
“This is why we need a general election soon to reset Parliament. We cannot afford to lose the non-Malay votes or even Malay votes. The longer the PN government is in power, Umno will be tainted by its association with them.”