UMNO Vice President Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said it is not healthy to criticise UMNO openly since the party has decided to make a comeback together with effort to strengthen Barisan Nasional (BN).

At the same time, he said political power of the Malays also go along with PAS in Muafakat Nasional, and that any cooperation on forming the government will only be considered after the elections.

“This is a party decision and a joint decision. So, UMNO will work hard to make it a success. Whether or not UMNO succeeds in this endeavor depends much on the people’s choice. It all depends on the confidence of the people.

“UMNO’s decision not to be with the Perikatan Nasional (PN) is because of trust. Some of them have openly rejected it while others have been dragged to court by voters in their constituencies to be removed from office,” he said in a statement via his Facebook page today.

According to Khaled, the decline in PN’s popularity and doubts about its ability to govern the country made UMNO and PN’s cooperation not strategic.

“Furthermore, the absence of radical efforts to attract non-Malay support. So, what is the strong motivation and reason to continue to urge UMNO in such a way. Even if UMNO is seeking political unification of the Malays, it as to bear in mind that the non-Malay support is also important. No party can deny this.

“On this basis, UMNO is confident that BN is a more suitable platform for its inclusiveness. Not PH or PN has got it. ”

Clearly, UMNO needs all parties to work together in its struggle and help strengthen it.

“This party is bigger than the struggle and trust of any individual. UMNO belongs to the people. Let the people decide the future of UMNO.”