Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan today verified that pictures of him and several other party leaders meeting Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad are genuine, amid rumours of further defections to the prime minister’s party.
However, Mohamad said the pictures – which showed him, Tanjong Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar, Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, and former Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor having a meal with Mahathir were not recent but taken a few months ago, after Mahathir’s return from the September general assembly of the United Nations in New York.
“After the United Nations general assembly, Tun said he wanted to dissolve Umno. So we met him. We asked Tun not to dissolve Umno,” Mohamad was quoted as saying.
“He said he wouldn’t do it.”
The pictures were circulated online after the exodus from Sabah Umno yesterday.
When asked if he would quit Umno and join PPBM, Mohamad replied: “Not at the moment.”
Datuk A Kadir Jasin, the prime minister’s media adviser, said the photographs were of an October dinner meeting.
“There must have been some among them who had hoped that their meeting with Tun Dr Mahathir would give them a lifeline. But they were hugely mistaken.
“On 15 November, Adnan Mansor was charged in court with corruption,” Kadir posted on Facebook.
Tengku Adnan was charged with receiving bribes of RM3 million from property developers during his tenure as Federal Territories Minister.
“Meeting the prime minister is a normal thing, entering the party is also a normal thing, but a crime is still a crime,” Kadir added.