'Hassan Karim's request for Umno to replace Zahid amusing' - Shaiful

ALOR SETAR - Umno Kedah described the statement of Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament (MP), Hassan Karim, urging the party to replace its President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as amusing.

Its Information Chief Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin admitted to being surprised by the sudden statement from a PKR MP.

He said the statement came at a time when the unity government led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was still stable and he considered the statement merely an attention-seeking move, especially from the public.

"It's not accurate to say that the unity government is weakening. If it is weakening, there will not be many opposition MPs ‘joining’ the government.

“Because they believe that the Zahid-Anwar coalition is strong, they dare to join the Unity Government. Who is Hassan Karim?

“I am sure he himself realises that he has no significance in the current political arena.

“So perhaps this statement is just seeking attention, seeking the spotlight from the public," he said in a statement on Thursday.

He said this in response to Hassan's statement on Wednesday, suggesting that Umno needed fresh faces at the helm and not just to 'cling onto the branch' of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) led by Anwar Ibrahim, which he acknowledged as 'fragile' facing GE16.

According to him, a fresh, integrity-filled, and charismatic new leadership overhaul in the party was crucial to garner Malay votes.

In a related development, Shaiful also expressed surprise when Hassan claimed that the unity government was already faltering.

He said that the unity government had a majority of more than two-thirds and the last time the government had such support was during the administration of Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"Hassan's criticisms of the government's efforts show that he is very populist.

“The actions of abolishing pensions, withdrawing subsidies are actions that are appropriate given the current economic status quo.

"In time, they will also see the reasons why the unity government is implementing these efforts, which will undoubtedly bring economic benefits to the people," he added.

He further stated that the government's efforts under Anwar to combat corruption needed to be supported and the 'big sharks' that had long been untouched were being addressed by the Prime Minister.