UMNO MPs pledge allegiance to ruling party
By Channel NewsAsia's Malaysia Bureau Chief Melissa Goh | Posted: 21 May 2008 0018 hrs

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KUALA LUMPUR: In Malaysia, UMNO lawmakers have unanimously pledged their allegiance to the ruling party after party president Abdullah Badawi called for an emergency meeting to contain the damage from the sudden resignation by former party president, Mahathir Mohamad.

A day after Dr Mahathir's surprise decision to quit the UMNO party, Prime Minister Abdullah called for an emergency meeting to head off a possible mass resignation of UMNO MPs.

With 79 of the 140 government MPs coming from the ruling party, a mass walkout would prove detrimental to Mr Abdullah's government which rules with a simple majority.

Speaking after the meeting, UMNO lawmakers unanimously pledged their support to the party.

Tourism Minister Azaline Othman said: "The priority is the party and not the personality."

Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Shahrir Samad said: "We are all UMNO members of parliament... the question of leaving UMNO to follow Dr Mahathir doesn't arise."

Some even lashed out at Dr Mahathir, a former UMNO president for 22 years.

Nazri Aziz, minister in the PM's Department, Malaysia, said: "Nobody, (no matter) how big he is has the right to use dirty tactics to bring down a person who's democratically elected."

Dr Mahathir has urged all UMNO members to follow his lead by quitting the party to force the resignation of his successor.

Although no UMNO MP is quitting for now, the opposition leaders are capitalising on the latest crisis plaguing the ruling party as rumours of crossovers of government MPs continue to gather momentum.

Key opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim has openly called on UMNO members to join Pakatan Rakyat – the opposition people's alliance.

He also said Dr Mahathir's resignation further indicates the worsening crisis within UMNO. Describing it as a sinking ship, he said the party is now beyond recovery.

This is the latest blow to the leadership of Mr Abdullah who is fighting for his own political survival. He has decided to stay on at least until the internal party elections this December.


- CNA/so