KUALA LUMPUR – PKR deputy information chief Razeef Rakimin says Umno is on the verge of losing the people’s confidence and trust once again, accusing the party of defending a corrupt individual.
Razeef highlighted that Umno had only recently started regaining the people’s trust under the Madani government.
However, he expressed concern that the party’s push for a full pardon for former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak might tarnish its image in the eyes of the public.
“The people must be reminded that Najib’s abuse of power involved RM43 million of people’s money, not including his other ongoing cases such as the SRC International Sdn Bhd-AMLA case (RM27 million), the Petroleum Investment Company case (RM6.6 billion), and the 1MDB case (RM2.3 billion).
“It is embarrassing for Umno leaders to advocate for Najib’s full pardon, with Umno youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh even criticising Bersih for questioning Najib’s sentence reduction.
“Akmal must be reminded that the unity government was formed to save the people and nation from Perikatan Nasional’s failure, not to save Najib,” Razeef said in a statement today.
Razeef pointed out that Dr Akmal, representing all the young people in Umno, seemed to be defending a corrupt individual.
“If this is the level of thinking of their youth chief, then I am not surprised why the people would want to ‘bury’ Umno before this.”
Yesterday, Dr Akmal criticised the non-governmental organisation Bersih for questioning the Federal Territories Pardons Board’s decision to reduce Najib’s prison sentence.
Dr Akmal claimed that Bersih displayed bias, arguing that the organisation did not make a similar statement when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was granted a full royal pardon. – February 3, 2024