KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 – There have been too many calls lately for UMNO to rethink its stance not to support the Perikatan Nasional government in the 15th general election, said the party Vice President Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

He said various reasons emerged, especially the rhetoric of ummah unity that seemed to be neglected by UMNO.

“UMNO has never neglected the interests of the ummah. The Malay unity has paved the way to liberate the country. UMNO also has welcomed ex-members of S46 and also invited PAS to jointly establish the Penyatuan Ummah. Not joining PN doesn’t mean we ignore the interests of the Malays. It is because UMNO has its own political calculations.

“UMNO is not a party with a ‘herd mentality’. UMNO is a party with the stance that its survival is more important than PN,” he said in a post on Instagram.

He further said it seems that many people have forgotten that UMNO’s stance stemmed from its grassroots.

“UMNO is the party of the majority. We are not a party formed by the elite who betrayed the mandate of its people. The grassroots had said it, that is why we will contest as Barisan Nasional. But what is more important is the future of UMNO is determined by the people, not its cooperation with PN,” he said.

He stressed that it is the people who will decide if UMNO wins or lose.

“It is the people who will decide everything and it is the people that we must focus all the time… Don’t waste time with political polemics at the top. The future of UMNO lies on their votes ” he said.