KUALA LUMPUR: Umno secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi has downplayed claims that half of its voters would turn to Perikatan Nasional in the upcoming state election.
In response to the claims made by former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, Asyraf Wajdi said the statement was a mere assumption.
"How does he know? An assumption remains an assumption," he told a press conference at the World Trade Centre, today.
Previously, Khairy, the former Rembau member of parliament, had said Umno would lose half of the Malay votes in the upcoming six state elections following party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's call for Umno members to vote for DAP.
In his 'Keluar Sekejap' podcast with former Umno deputy Youth chief Shahril Hamdan, Khairy also noted that the statement made was deemed sensitive and had sparked anger among party members and voters.
Asyraf Wajdi said Umno remained focused on upholding the four main pillars of the constitution.
"We are the custodian of Islam, Malay and the Bumiputera rights, Malay Rulers as well as the Malay language as stipulated in the Constitution.
"Ever since gaining independence, we have made many adjustments in terms of managing the political landscape and scenario in different eras."
He added that Umno had never strayed from its principles and the main purpose of the party, which were the four pillars.
He also said prior to the formation of the unity government, Umno had also insisted that the four pillars could not be touched nor compromised.
"First, (it was agreed) on the document (of the contract) prior to negotiations and secondly, signed after we established the government.
"In both documents, we explicitly mentioned that we will not compromise on anything which involves these four pillars. (And) within six months since the government was formed, we have also not heard any news whereby the government will be toppled, unlike the 22-months we experienced during the previous Pakatan Harapan administration.
"This just indicates that Umno has never compromised on the matter and we respect each other."
