INTERVIEW | BN has a big plan to help the Pakatan Harapan government to fulfil all of its election manifesto pledges, BN Kinabatangan parliamentarian Bung Moktar Radin said.

This, he said, comes despite he knowing fully well that some of the promises in the Harapan manifesto are too impossible to realise.

The promises include bringing down the prices of consumer goods, fixing petrol price at RM1.50 per litre, setting the minimum wage rate at RM1,500 a month and abolishing toll on highways.

However, since Harapan won in the May 9 general election due to its pledge to bring down the cost of living, Bung said BN will make sure all these promises are implemented.

"So, we have a big plan to help Harapan fulfil its promises. We will monitor closely. As an MP, I will make sure this is done," he told Malaysiakini, without divulging details.

Besides this, he said, Umno would voice out the concerns of the people, including those of the contractors who are being affected by the decisions of the new government.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had admitted Harapan might not be able to fulfil its 10 promises in 100 days. He later said the manifesto is not a 'Bible', but merely a guidance.

"I have yet to act aggressively because I will wait until the middle of August (to act)," he told Malaysiakini last week, referring to the first 100 days of rule by Harapan.

"Of course, we are not going to ambush them. We will look into all the promises and keep the public informed of Harapan's failure in terms of meeting the obligations to be fulfilled in the 100 days."

Despite this, Bung said he would not make allegations against the ruling coalition.

Last month, Bung called upon his Umno colleagues to 'wallop' and throw allegations against the ruling coalition, with no fear of legal consequences.

Umno comrades despaired by defeat

This was after he felt his Umno comrades were overwhelmed by despair following BN's catastrophic defeat in the May 9 general election.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V urged all parties to accept the result of May 9 election, instead of being emotional and resorting to prejudice.

Bung slammed the three parliamentarians who quit Umno several weeks ago.

"When we were in the government, you joined us. But now you have left us. It shows that you want to be in comfortable positions only. So, where is your dignity?

"You have no dignity. Politics is not the opportunity for you to gain anything. In life, you can mortgage anything but not dignity," said Bung, who is also the Sabah Umno deputy chief.

The lawmakers who quit Umno are Bagan Serai MP Noor Azmi Ghazali, Bukit Gantang MP Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal and Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (photo).

Upon taking over Putrajaya, the new administration is conducting a massive investigation into 1MDB and other high-profile scandals, which may implicate key leaders in Umno who once sat in the cabinet.

'Bad eggs among good Umno leaders'

There might be bad eggs among the good Umno leaders, admitted Bung.

"Umno is a big party and we cannot control everybody. Maybe 100 or 200 (leaders) out of four million members thought only about their own interests.

"They took everything when they became the leaders," he sighed.

"But nobody can stop (the current government's cleaning-up process). Of course, there will be a few wrongdoings, so the government is probing," he said.

"We are worried too, but what can we do? No matter how many leaders that are found to have committed wrongdoings, Umno must move forward with other (clean) leaders.

"If anything happens to the leaders now, let say 10, 20 or 30 of them are found guilty, the new leaders must be born," he said.

He noted that this would be a long and painful process.

Bung then pointed out that some of Umno's retired lawmakers were poorer than government officers and eligible to apply for the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M).

"People just don't know that many of the former Umno's YB (Yang Berhormat) are poor," he said, adding that probably around 50 former MPs are living with low pension.

"We always want to clean (Umno's) image. Umno's image in the kampung is good. Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim were from Umno," he added.