MIC Youth chief: Umno ‘cleansing’ will impact BN component parties
JOHOR BARU, Jan 31 — MIC Youth today expressed its concern that the Umno supreme council’s decision to suspend and sack several top leaders last week will possibly have an impact on Barisan Nasional (BN).
Its chief K. Raven Kumar however said the MIC Youth movement will not interfere and instead respect Umno’s supreme council decision.
“I am aware and have no wish to interfere in Umno’s internal affairs as we know other parties do not have the right or authority to involve themselves.
“As a BN component partner, we respect their decision,” he told reporters after attending a workshop titled ‘Responsible Tourism: Carbon Footprint For Johor Tourism Industry’ held at the GBW hotel here today.
Raven Kunar, who is also the Johor Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman, said all Umno leaders have their respective merits, capabilities and support bases.
“This also includes those who were subjected to disciplinary action last Friday,” he said.
Last Friday, several prominent Umno members were sacked, following an Umno supreme council meeting. Disciplinary action was taken on members from the party’s Pahang, Putrajaya, Pasir Gudang and also from Tanjong Karang.
Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and former Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar were immediately removed from the party.
Those suspended by the party were former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, the party’s former information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan, former supreme council member Datuk Fathul Bari Mat Jahya, its Jempol division chief Datuk Seri Mohd Salim Sharif and Tebrau division chief Datuk Maulizan Bujang.
Some political observers have described the sackings as a deliberate purge of Umno members who were critical of party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
In a separate development, Raven Kumar urged all BN component party leaders to focus on restoring the image and general support for the coalition.
The Tenggaroh assemblyman explained that this is because since the general elections in 2013, 2018 and 2022, support for BN has continued to decline.
“All BN component parties need to do a ‘reality check’ to identify and fix existing mistakes.
“We need to get this right, because if not, support for BN will continue to decline. This is especially so among the younger generation,” said Raven Kumar.
