Nazri says it again: no Anwar, no Mahathir, no DAP

(FMT) – A senior Umno member, Nazri Aziz, has quashed rumours that Umno could work with Pakatan Harapan to form a new government to topple the Perikatan Nasional administration led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

Nazri, a former Umno Supreme Council member, told FMT there was no truth to such rumours as his party could not work with DAP.

“If we work with PH, we work with DAP, so no way.

“No Anwar, no Mahathir, no DAP,” he said, referring to PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and former PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We have to make sure all this news flying around is rebutted.”

Yesterday, talk had arisen about Umno joining hands with PH to bring down Muhyiddin’s government, following the leak of a letter purportedly about Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his predecessor Najib Razak backing Anwar to be the new prime minister.

However, the so-called letter was debunked by Zahid’s aide as being fake.

However, Zahid had previously said that he was aware several Umno MPs were backing Anwar, who is opposition leader and PKR president.

Klang MP Charles Santiago, from DAP, said Umno seemed to be wanting to play a kingmaker role, which he added could be problematic.

“They pull support from one group then go to the next to secure what they want. We need to let the situation work itself out, and we’ll see where it goes from there,” he told FMT.

He chose not to comment on the premise of working with Umno, saying it would be too hypothetical, adding that there could even be a chance for Umno to be split into two factions.

However, political analyst Azmi Hassan said he does not foresee any form of political cooperation between Umno and PH coming to fruition.

He told FMT that the current premise of working with PH was just a political ploy of Umno’s to give the perception that it had the option of working with other parties aside from PN.

“The ploy is not just meant for Muhyiddin’s PPBM but also PAS. On PPBM’s side, it’s just a salvo from Umno that the latter is willing to work with PH if Muhyiddin ignores Umno’s latest political demands.

“I think this is an effective strategy to force Muhyiddin to accept if not all then some of their demands.

“And for PAS, if it still dilly-dallies on Muafakat Nasional (MN), then Umno will take the drastic action of abandoning MN and working with PH, leaving PAS to work with PN.

“But as it is, right now, there is no way for Umno to work with PH as long as DAP remains part of it,” he said.