KUALA LUMPUR – Ambassador to the United States Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz refuted concerns over his membership in Muafakat Nasional (MN), clarifying that the entity is merely an apolitical NGO.
In a brief conversation with Scoop, the Umno veteran also clarified that he has been a member of MN since its inception.
“I think I joined many years ago.
“Muafakat was formed some time back, and then steps were taken to get it registered.
“This is an apolitical NGO, so there’s nothing wrong,” Nazri said.
The former Padang Rengas MP’s comments come after MN president Tan Sri Annuar Musa uploaded a post on Facebook thanking Nazri for his membership in the organisation.
When asked if his current membership has drawn pushback from his peers in Umno, Nazri replied: “Try la.”
Annuar, who is a former Ketereh MP, said MN, as an NGO, welcomed members of all races and religions irrespective of political party.
However, Annuar has also been using the MN platform to call for continued cooperation between Umno, Bersatu and PAS, of which he has been a member since June last year following his sacking from the Barisan Nasional linchpin.
Bersatu and PAS are component parties in the Perikatan Nasional coalition, while Umno is in the unity government at the federal level and in several states with Pakatan Harapan (PH).
MN was formed by Umno and PAS following Umno–Barisan Nasional’s stunning loss in the 2018 general election when PH formed the federal government.
Umno and PAS used MN as a vehicle for political cooperation with the aim of reclaiming power, but the loose alliance fizzled out heading into the 2022 general election. Following this, Annuar reformed MN into an NGO and became its president.
In March this year, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also deputy prime minister, rejected suggestions for an MN and Umno partnership revival. – August 7, 2024