KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said he advised Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz not to rush into deciding whether to leave the party.
This follows a meeting between Zahid and Zafrul last week amid rumours that the latter is considering joining Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s party, PKR.
“He met me last week, and I conveyed the party’s view that he does not need to rush into making a decision now because he is a minister, the division chief of Kota Raja, and also an elected and winning Supreme Council member. So, there is no need to be hasty,” Zahid told reporters at the sidelines of the Umno Supreme Council breaking fast event at the World Trade Centre here.
When asked whether Zafrul intends to leave Umno, Zahid did not deny it.
“He expressed such an intention. For now, he is still an Umno member,” Zahid said.
In December last year, Anwar confirmed rumours of discussions on Zafrul potentially defecting to PKR from Umno.
The prime minister said his party did not invite the Umno minister to join but did not dismiss the possibility outright in the spirit of “openness”.
In response, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the party would not tolerate allies poaching its leaders.
“The culture of poaching members or leaders from each other’s parties will only create disputes and conflicts, jeopardising the coalition’s stability,” Asyraf said.