UMNO strongly opposes any party hopping within the unity government, says its secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

He said the party views PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s remarks about “preliminary discussions” having taken place on Tengku Zafrul Aziz joining PKR seriously.

However, Asyraf pointed out that the prime minister had already consulted Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi about the matter.

“Umno’s stance remains firm. The party will never accept or allow any (form of) party hopping among members of the unity government,” he said in a statement today.

Asyraf said that recruiting members or leaders from allied parties would only fuel disputes and jeopardise the government’s stability.

“We have had enough of bitter experiences in the past when political alliances collapsed due to betrayal, party hopping, and the poaching of members within alliances,” he said.

After PKR’s special congress today, Anwar told reporters that the party does not invite people to join it, but remained “open” to such discussions.

Speculation has been rife that Tengku Zafrul is planning to leave Umno to join PKR in an apparent bid to become the next Selangor menteri besar.

However, Zahid said Tengku Zafrul has not informed him of any plans to leave, while PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh denied receiving a formal application from him.

Tengku Zafrul, who currently serves as investment, trade, and industry minister, has yet to publicly comment on the matter.