KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Annuar Musa has revealed how the task assigned to him to be the ‘bridge’ between UMNO and Bersatu was stalled when there was a breakdown in the effort to bring together the top leaders of the two parties.
The Ketereh UMNO division chief said the instruction from UMNO President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was for him to get in touch with Bersatu, but in the end, he was accused of being a ‘thorn in the flesh’ for UMNO.
"It is not fair to me. In carrying out my duties, I was accused of being pro-Bersatu. I said you (Zahid) did not defend me.
“You can ask the UMNO president, you can ask the Prime Minister, both are still alive. I want to meet the Prime Minister to bring these two people closer.
“I went to the extent of inviting him (the Prime Minister) to come to my house, to allow me to invite my president, for them to eat together, so that the two of them could discuss party problems without the interference of others,” he said.
Annuar explained he carried out the task of carrying the president's message, the party's message, as well as the party's decisions to be conveyed ‘to the other side’’ as instructed.
However, he further revealed that until today, UMNO has not officially sat down with Bersatu to discuss, among others, the distribution of seats to be contested in the 15th General Election (GE15).
“I used to be with Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as a member of the committee on seat negotiation.
“We continued to negotiate with the state liaison body, then I arranged negotiations with the PAS Liaison Body but with Bersatu… never.
“Lastly, one night Ismail Sabri led negotiations with PAS, the same night, I went to negotiate administratively with Bersatu.
“We did the work. But real negotiations never happened, because of what? There is a 'breakdown' between the two leaders," he revealed.
He felt that in this case, the UMNO leaders should be big-hearted for the success of the party which in fact needs cooperation and cannot fight alone.
For Annuar, the winning formula is by ensuring UMNO leads in the unity and solidarity of the Malays.
“I think Bersatu is important to enable UMNO to win, just as PAS is important for UMNO to win, in a way to avoid being divided.
"I want my party to champion the unity of the Malays is. My party must become the champion of Malay political unity," he said.
In that spirit, he said, UMNO managed to form an agreement with PAS through Muafakat Nasional where he was among those involved in drafting its charter.
In the charter, he said, it was outlined that UMNO-PAS cooperation could not be exclusive and needed to work on greater consolidation following that.
"So, that's where we bring in Bersatu. This formula established the concept of Malay political union that is strong," said Annuar.
The Ketereh UMNO division chief said the instruction from UMNO President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was for him to get in touch with Bersatu, but in the end, he was accused of being a ‘thorn in the flesh’ for UMNO.
"It is not fair to me. In carrying out my duties, I was accused of being pro-Bersatu. I said you (Zahid) did not defend me.
“You can ask the UMNO president, you can ask the Prime Minister, both are still alive. I want to meet the Prime Minister to bring these two people closer.
“I went to the extent of inviting him (the Prime Minister) to come to my house, to allow me to invite my president, for them to eat together, so that the two of them could discuss party problems without the interference of others,” he said.
Annuar explained he carried out the task of carrying the president's message, the party's message, as well as the party's decisions to be conveyed ‘to the other side’’ as instructed.
However, he further revealed that until today, UMNO has not officially sat down with Bersatu to discuss, among others, the distribution of seats to be contested in the 15th General Election (GE15).
“I used to be with Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as a member of the committee on seat negotiation.
“We continued to negotiate with the state liaison body, then I arranged negotiations with the PAS Liaison Body but with Bersatu… never.
“Lastly, one night Ismail Sabri led negotiations with PAS, the same night, I went to negotiate administratively with Bersatu.
“We did the work. But real negotiations never happened, because of what? There is a 'breakdown' between the two leaders," he revealed.
He felt that in this case, the UMNO leaders should be big-hearted for the success of the party which in fact needs cooperation and cannot fight alone.
For Annuar, the winning formula is by ensuring UMNO leads in the unity and solidarity of the Malays.
“I think Bersatu is important to enable UMNO to win, just as PAS is important for UMNO to win, in a way to avoid being divided.
"I want my party to champion the unity of the Malays is. My party must become the champion of Malay political unity," he said.
In that spirit, he said, UMNO managed to form an agreement with PAS through Muafakat Nasional where he was among those involved in drafting its charter.
In the charter, he said, it was outlined that UMNO-PAS cooperation could not be exclusive and needed to work on greater consolidation following that.
"So, that's where we bring in Bersatu. This formula established the concept of Malay political union that is strong," said Annuar.
