Zahid warns Umno against betrayal, breaking political agreements

KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has issued a stern warning against betrayal and treachery in political cooperation, stressing that agreements must be honoured and not undermined behind the scenes.

He said political understanding must be built on honesty, trust and commitment, with no room for parties to agree to one thing in meetings before doing something else afterwards.

“There are certain conditions to this political understanding that we cannot compromise on. There must be no lies between us. There must be no betrayal or treachery.

“We must not build an understanding during the day while, at night, plotting to bring down our own partners.

“We can't have people call themselves our friends, spend half an hour agreeing to stand by us and our families and then turn around and do the complete opposite,” he said during the Umno Youth General Assembly held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL) on Friday.

Zahid also warned against signing political agreements while simultaneously undermining them, stressing that commitments made under the unity government must be honoured.

“If the agreement was made in the name of the unity government, then that commitment must be honoured. It cannot later be changed into something else,” he said.

Using a Malay proverb, Zahid stressed that political leaders must stand by their word once an agreement has been reached.

“Kerbau dipegang pada tali hidungnya, manusia dipegang pada katanya (a man is as good as his word),” he said.

He said parties must not agree to stand together during meetings only to pursue a different course of action afterwards.

Zahid said Umno, Barisan Nasional and its new partners must instead build political understanding through mutual agreement and commitment.