Thanks for forgiving us 10 'traitors', Hishammuddin to Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR - Former Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein thanked Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for forgiving the party traitors who signed the statutory declarations (SD) backing Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after the 15th General Election (GE15).

However, he said he did not know why he and the other nine Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs were labelled as traitors.

“Until today, I still do not know why we were accused of being traitors after what had happened.

“There is nothing we should be apologetic about to the point that we were blamed for betraying the party’s fight.

“If they want to take action against us, go ahead, there is nothing for me to worry about,” he said during the 2022 Umno General Assembly (PAU) at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL).

Hishammuddin said the MPs signed the SD due to Umno’s initial refusal to work with Pakatan Harapan (PH).

He also said that after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah called for a unity government, they canceled the SD to abide by Agong’s decree.

“We followed what the party wanted, so where is the betrayal?

He asked Umno members to stop making accusations and fight in public and said it was important for the party to move forward after its significant loss in GE15.

"At this general assembly, I hope we can talk about where the party is going and how to get people to trust the party and our fight again.

"That's a lot better than using this platform to fight with each other and attack or accuse each other, we are done with that," he said.

Yesterday, Zahid said that he had forgiven the 10 BN MPs, but would be keeping a close eye on them to ensure they would not do anything similar behind the party's back in the future.