Tariq denounces Umno culture in PPBM
He says Kamarulazman’s resignation should serve as a wake-up call.
(FMT) – The surprise resignation of a Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) founding member has prompted another founding member to sound a wake-up call for the party’s leaders.
Tariq Ismail, a member of PPBM’s supreme council, described Kamarulazman Habibur Rahman as one of the moderates and progressives in the party. The party therefore had much to learn from his resignation, he said.
Tariq referred to Kamarulazman’s claim that former Umno members who joined PPBM had brought with them negative attitudes from their former party, such as the inclination to jostle for positions at the expense of their new party’s interests.
Tariq told FMT he agreed with his former colleague, who was also a supreme council member in PPBM.
He said the power hungry in PPBM were insignificant when they were in Umno. He denounced them as repulsive, using the Malay expression “kucing kurap”.
“I hope the party smells the coffee, wakes up, and emancipates the Malay mind from the power hungry sickness that came with them,” he said.
“I want to remind party members and the division leaders to serve the people, not their petty ambitions. The people will decide whether you are serving them or not.”
He urged party members to “learn from the Cikgu,” using an endearment for Kamarulazman.
He said it would be wrong to assume that PPBM members who were not previously Umno members were necessarily immature in politics. This was a reference to protests against the appointment of some members to leadership positions.
Asked whether he thought PPBM would suffer from Kamarulazman’s departure, Tariq said he hoped it would not, but added that there might be a domino effect if the party leadership allowed the negative influences brought in by former Umno members to spread.
“Realistically, when we set up PPBM, we expected there to be members claiming to have left Umno, but who may be covertly trying to subvert our plans,” he said.
“This is in addition to that terrible Umno culture of greed for power, money and rank that caused the Cikgu to leave.”
Kamarulazman was the second PPBM founding member to have quit the party since it was formed last year. He followed Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who left the party in October.