Umno gives DAP four options: Ramkarpal hits back at Azalina

SHAH ALAM - DAP has hit back at Umno Information chief Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, insisting that it was Umno’s own actions that were undermining the stability of the unity government.

DAP deputy secretary-general Ramkarpal Singh said Umno was the first to initiate political ties with Pas, openly criticise Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and call for Parliament to be dissolved.

The Bukit Gelugor MP said such actions showed that Umno had failed to respect the spirit of the Malaysia's Unity Government Cooperation Agreement signed on December 16, 2022.

"Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) continues to maintain political ties with Pas, despite Umno being a key partner in the unity government alongside Pakatan Harapan (PH).

"They are working with the opposition while at the same time remaining part of the government administration. This raises serious questions about Umno's sincerity and commitment to the coalition's shared mandate.

"This could potentially affect the stability of the government. This was clearly evident in the Johor, Negeri Sembilan and now Melaka state elections," he said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

Azalina was previously reported to have presented four options to DAP following the party's dissatisfaction over developments surrounding the conditional pardon involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The four options were to use mediation through a consultative council, terminate the cooperation agreement through the dissolution of Parliament, allow the existing arrangement to continue, or review paragraph C of the Coalition Agreement if DAP remained dissatisfied.

Commenting further on the public criticism directed at the Prime Minister, Ramkarpal said there had been a consistent pattern of such behaviour among several Umno leaders.

He said continued public attacks would only weaken the Prime Minister's authority and erode public confidence in the unity government as a whole, although constructive internal debate was healthy in any coalition.

"Not only that, calls by Umno leaders for Parliament to be dissolved while they remain part of the government once again demonstrate a lack of respect for the stability promised to the people.

"As emphasised before, the unity government was formed to ensure stable administration and economic recovery, not to create political uncertainty for the benefit of self-serving parties.

"If there are any allegations of a breach of trust or violation of the terms of political cooperation, the respective track records are sufficient to explain the actual situation," he said.

Ramkarpal said Azalina should remind herself of the purpose of the Malaysia Unity Government Cooperation Agreement.

"Azalina's statement is rather 'amusing'.

"Perhaps she should remind herself of the purpose of the agreement, which clearly states that it is a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to form a coalition government (unity government) for the sake of stability, reform, social unity and inclusiveness," he said.