KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — Umno secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa has today urged the Barisan Nasional (BN) Supreme Council to convene as soon as possible to decide the coalition’s fate, backing a similar call made by MCA and MIC.
Annuar also told Malay Mail that the position of Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz as the coalition’s secretary-general should also be among the pertinent issues to be discussed, following criticisms by the two component parties.
“I agree that the meet should convene immediately and that all parties need to sit down and discussed among one another.
“There are many issues the parties need to go over and yes, it would also be appropriate to discuss the position of the coalition’s secretary-general as well,’’ he said.
Earlier today, BN main component parties MCA and MIC announced that they are seeking to form a new political coalition, claiming a lack of “mutual respect” from Umno within the alliance.
In a joint statement, MCA and MIC said BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had repeatedly uttered racial remarks perceived to be from Umno, and the Malay nationalist party’s continued silence had cracked the foundation of mutual respect in the coalition.
Annuar also explained that the meeting is crucial for all parties as they need to share insights and new information gained after the 14th general election.
“We also feel we need to sit down because there are matters we need to share, because you can see BN component parties going through turmoil, and we’ve agreed to allow each of us to solve our own problems.
“Such problems include each party restructuring its own leadership lineup and along the way came a series of by-election. This gave certain new insight and experience that we might share,’’ he said, suggesting that with the conclusion of the Semenyih by-election, it was time for all parties to sit down together.
When asked whether any parties within the BN coalition can afford to work without one another, Annuar said that depends on each party’s evaluation on what they plan to do for their respective future.
“Well, that depends on each party's evaluation as each party has its own plan, own political viewpoints but personally what is important is the spirit of Barisan Nasional, and not the form of BN itself.
“The spirit is that Malaysia is a multiracial country, we need to appropriate with the various races and must work together; that spirit has brought to where we are now,’’ he said.
“The best way now is to sit down with a very open mind to explore all possible options and if BN needs to take certain decisions, let’s do it together,’’ he added.
