Action of UMNO senior violates party discipline - Shahril Hamdan

KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO Information Chief Shahril Hamdan has questioned the actions of an UMNO senior who did not respect party discipline and unashamedly held a press conference with the opposition.

Short of naming the party senior as UMNO Advisory chairman, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Shahril said his actions were an attempt to confuse the party grassroots on UMNO's stance.

"As a young person in the party, of course I respect the seniors.

“But I really do not understand the need for a senior UMNO MP, an influential person and as a (party) advisor to hold a press conference with the opposition without hesitation. The effect is not small.

"(An attempt) to confuse the subordinates on what UMNO’s stand really is. He also does not respect the party discipline as UMNO had decided to support the Budget.

"He also does not respect party discipline by holding a political press conference with a big leader of the opposition," he said in a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

On Monday, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh requested the Members of Parliament to reject the third reading of the Supply (Budget) Bill 2021.

In a joint press conference, they said the rejection of the Supply Bill could be translated as a rejection of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was deemed weak and did not care about the people.

Shahril also asked what the party's reaction would be if other individuals did the same thing as the senior.

"What is the reaction? Or imagine after this there are UMNO MPs or any UMNO leader calling the media, with the opposition, without the permission of the President or MKT (Supreme Council)? Is it a good example? Does it clear the situation in the party? Of course not,” he said.

He added that the question of agreeing and disagreeing on a policy or approach is common in any organisation.

"You can voice your views using the right channel. If you want to voice it openly in the media once in a while, it is probably acceptable.

"Which politician is not a little ‘naughty’ sometimes? Which politician has no particular stance? That is normal in any country and party.

"But when openly announcing and calling for a policy action without the party's permission and against the party, that's another story. This is no longer just speculation but this is an open political action in public," he said.

Shahril stressed that it cannot become a new norm in UMNO politics.

"That's why I voiced this - so that yesterday's incident did not pass as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It must be stopped,” he said.