POLITICALLY FRANK: When father and son are in different parties, Umno youth Ikmal Hazlan shares experience

SHAH ALAM - His father is with Bersatu while he remained with Umno.

Umno Youth exco Ikmal Hazlan Ikmal Hisham said it was in 2019 when his father Tanah Merah MP Datuk Seri Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz ditched Umno for Bersatu. The details of the decision were shared when both were on a morning flight.

“He asked me to leave Umno, and frankly speaking I felt it wasn't time for me to leave Umno.

“I felt I inherited it and wished him all the best. I respect his decision as my father,” he said during Sinar Daily's Politically Frank.

He felt it was not right for him to leave Umno after the party suffered losses in the 2018 general elections.

“Even though in opposition, I felt Umno and BN was the only party that can champion the right of Malays and Malaysians,” he said.

However, his father's departure from Umno resulted in Ikmal Hazlan being dismissed from the Tanah Merah Umno youth chief in June 2020.

Commenting further, he said his father's departure from Umno created speculations and "for the benefit of the party, they decided to suspend it to remove any suspicions within the party.

"II respected the decision as the procedure was the best for the party,” he said.