PETALING JAYA: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is welcoming MPs who defected from Umno to Bersatu to return to their original party, says Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi.
Puad said Zahid’s remark yesterday that Umno’s door was “not wide open yet not totally shut” had been misconstrued by certain quarters.
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He said that to his understanding, Zahid was directing the statement at Bersatu MPs who used to be in Umno but defected after the 2018 general election (GE14).
“They are welcome to return to Umno. But there must be something agreed upon between them and Umno,” he said without detailing what this “agreement” should entail.
“That’s what Zahid meant when he said the door was not wide open, yet not totally shut. If this happens, then what happened to Semangat 46 will repeat and (Bersatu) will be dissolved,” he said in a Facebook post.
Puad said this would not be impossible since Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin had “lost control” of his party.
This is believed to be in reference to the apparent leadership tussle between Muhyiddin and his deputy, Hamzah Zainudin, which culminated in the sacking of two MPs: Wan Saiful Wan Jan and Saifuddin Abdullah.
Bersatu was formed in 2016 by former Umno leaders Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin, Mukhriz Mahathir and several others.
After Barisan Nasional fell from power in GE14, Umno suffered a slew of defections to Bersatu.
The MPs who switched camps included Hamzah, Sabah Bersatu chief Ronald Kiandee, Wanita Bersatu chief Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, Hulu Terengganu MP Rosol Wahid and Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz.
