Annuar Musa rejects Umno return, claims party causes division and betrays Malays

Tan Sri Annuar Musa, a former senior Umno leader, has announced that he will not return to the party from which he was sacked, according to a report by PAS-owned daily Harakah. Annuar, who recently became a PAS member, stated that Umno is no longer the preferred party for Malaysians since GE13 and has caused divisions.

“I decided not to return to Umno and to continue my fight,” he was quoted as saying at a Perikatan Nasional (PN) event in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

Annuar, who previously held the position of Barisan Nasional secretary-general, was expelled from Umno in December for disciplinary reasons. During the Seremban event, he claimed that the Malay nationalist party is now under the control of its current president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He reportedly said he had been in Umno for 50 years and that the party has now self-destructed. He further claimed that Umno has betrayed the interests of Malays and Muslims in the country.

“Umno was expected to become the party that supports the unification and unity of the ummah and Malaysians, not to become the party that leads to division among the ummah in the country,” he was quoted as saying.

The word ummah, of Arabic origin, means community but is commonly used in Malaysia specifically to mean Muslims who are also widely perceived to be Malays.

Annuar, who founded a non-governmental organisation championing Malay and Muslim interests called Muafakat Nasional, said he will take part in PN’s roadshows and explain his reasons for joining PAS then.

Last night, national news agency Bernama reported that Annuar had been accepted into PAS and received his membership certificate from the Islamist party president, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.