Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein today played down claims of strong opposition within Umno against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's proposed reforms, dismissing them as not being that serious.

NONE "I don't think so... the objections are not as fierce as we expected," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Hishammuddin ( left ) was responding to a question on whether the premier could execute his reforms in the face of such objections.

He said the party leadership has been engaging with several quarters in an attempt to allay their concerns.

"We have been engaging all stakeholders and I feel that once we actually inform them... all of these will allay any fear that they may have," he said.

The comments come after former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned his successor of resistance by hardliners who wants to “retain the old system” within the BN.

However, Hishammuddin claimed that he was not certain of what the former prime minister had said but stressed that reforms are a continuing process of change.

“I’m not sure what was said by Pak Lah... I think it is not just Pak Lah, this movement and change has happened in Malaysia from the time we achieve independence... I give credit to all the previous leaders and prime ministers for moving ahead and ensuring that our country is in line and on par with other countries in the world,” he said.

'Cabinet consensus on reforms’

Despite opposition from certain quarter, Hishammuddin reiterated that the government is staunchly behind Najib’s reforms.

“When Najib first announced it (the reforms), it was new to us, but there was already consensus that the cabinet supports it and we have been making arrangements so that people know what we are doing, that there are no tricks or other agendas,” he said.

Najib had on the eve of Malaysia Day announced a slew of reforms, including the abolition of the draconian Internal Security Act and amendments to several other laws to allow more democratic space.

On a separate matter, Hishammuddin denied that the move to charge PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu with criminal defamation was selective prosecution.

“If today people make allegations about Mat Sabu’s case, then tomorrow there will be allegations about other cases... I don’t want to talk about specific cases, there are cases every day,” he said.

Mohamad Sabu, or more popularly known as Mat Sabu was charged yesterday at the Butterworth Session Court with criminally defaming the Bukit Kepong police officers who had defended themselves against communist insurgents in 1950.

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