Nazri slams former Umno ministers for helping Dr M
PETALING JAYA: Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz has branded former Cabinet ministers who have joined in the chorus of criticism against the Government as “hypocrites”.
“They are the ones who benefited most when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was the Umno president and prime minister” he told The Star.
Nazri was referring to former international trade and industry minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, former de-facto law minister Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim, and former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin.
The trio were cabinet ministers during Dr Mahathir’s 22-year tenure as prime minister.
Nazri also said it was not surprising that the trio had now turned against the Government, which they were previously a part of.
“They probably got nothing when Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak became prime minister. So, they are very unhappy,” he said.
Nazri also questioned the trio’s sincerity in campaigning alongside Pakatan Harapan.
“The irony of it now is that they are a part of the group (PKR) that was once against them.
“To me, these people are all irrelevant and are just tools for the Opposition,” he added.
Earlier yesterday, a news portal reported that Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor had warned that Rafidah, Rais and Daim could be sacked from the party due to their open criticism of Barisan Nasional.
However, Tengku Adnan said that any action to be taken against the trio would be decided on a caseby-case basis as Umno is a “fair party”.
Rafidah, in a Facebook posting on Tuesday (May 1), urged Malaysians to reject Umno and hand over the mandate to rule the country to Pakatan Harapan.
Rais, on Monday (April 30), had also criticised the Election Commission for removing Dr Mahathir’s image from Opposition billboards.
Daim is also campaigning for the Opposition, urging Malaysians to vote for Pakatan.