April 01, 2012
KUALA
LUMPUR, Apr 1 — Wanita Umno vice chief Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim has
defended her decision to call for Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s
resignation, saying she did not wish to see the wing carry a “diseased”
member to the polls.
She had earlier asked Shahrizat to quit as Wanita Umno chief after
the senator insisted she would continue to lead the 1.3-million strong
wing despite relinquishing her Cabinet post following the National
Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.
However, the duo then agreed to cooperate after peace talks with
party leaders including president Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy
Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
But in an interview published by Utusan Malaysia’s weekend edition today, Kamilia (picture)
said that while it was important for Wanita Umno to show unity in the
face of public attacks, “true solidarity” meant resolving critical
problems together and not sweep them under the carpet.
“An obstacle needs to be dealt with and not just left to be. In war,
if someone in the squad has a disease that can spread and may cripple
the team, do we insist on bringing them to the battlefield?” she said
when asked by Mingguan Malaysia why she did not back Shahrizat.
“Do we want all out team members to fall sick and die or do we
quarantine the sick individual first until they recover so the team can
advance to the battlefield? We as Wanita Umno need to know the true
meaning of solidarity,” she added in the interview.
The Kuala Kangsar division chief stressed that unity within Wanita
Umno needed to be tempered by a clear objective, in this case, to win in
the next general election which must be called by April next year.
She said that while it was necessary for the wing to show solidarity
and strength, it should not ignore problems especially if they involved a
key leader and could threaten the party’s chances at the polls.
“In this matter, Wanita needs to clean its image so it does not
appear as though it is embroiled in controversial issues,” she told the
Umno-owned paper.
She added that it was not her intention to split the wing but was acknowledging a problem that needed to be fixed.
“Unfortunately, there are some in Wanita who do not wish to listen to
explanations, don’t want to accept and understand the actual problem,”
she said.
Shahrizat announced on March 11 that she would step down as women,
family and community development minister when her term as senator ends
on April 8.
The announcement came after months of being dogged by allegations she
and her family had abused a RM250 million federal loan meant for a
cattle-rearing project to finance personal expenses.
Her husband Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail, who heads the National
Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) with their three children, pleaded not
guilty on March 12 to criminal breach of trust in relation to the
alleged misuse of RM49 million in public funds.
The veteran politician, however, said she would remain as head of
Wanita Umno despite previous calls from Kamilia and other senior party
leaders — including Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad — to quit the post.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has insisted that Shahrizat
does not have to resign as Wanita Umno chief as there was no proof or
charge of wrongdoing in the NFCorp scandal.
The Umno president also said he had met with Shahrizat and Kamilia
and that the duo had agreed to cooperate despite the latter’s repeated
calls for Shahrizat to relinquish leadership of the wing.
“Both leaders will cooperate fully after this as a united team. They will work effectively together as a team,” he had said.
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