Mohamad: I was merely proposing that Muhyiddin rejoins Umno
However, he said, the matter may be discussed the Umno supreme council if Muhyiddin agrees with the proposal.
"I was merely making a suggestion, if it is agreed (by him) then we will discuss," he was quoted by Utusan Malaysia today as saying...Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan (above) has clarified that his remark on having Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin rejoining Umno was merely a proposal.
However, he said, the matter may be discussed the Umno supreme council if Muhyiddin agrees with the proposal.
"I was merely making a suggestion, if it is agreed (by him) then we will discuss," he was quoted by Utusan Malaysia today as saying.
"It is up to the Umno supreme council as it is the highest decision-making body," Mohamad added.
He hopes the issue of Muhyiddin rejoining Umno would not be polemised.
Earlier this month, Umno's Padang Rengas MP Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz called for Muhyiddin to return to Umno and take over from Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as party president.
Nazri (above, left) argued that this would resolve the bulk of the problems on seat allocation within Perikatan Nasional for the 15th general election.
However, Bersatu Youth exco member Muzzammil Ismail said Nazri's proposal was uncalled for and would only lead to unhealthy speculations.
In making the same proposal on July 23, Mohamad said Umno could “change” its 2016 decision to sack Muhyiddin if he agrees to return to the party.
Bersatu has 31 MPs at present, while Umno has 39 MPs.
These comments come as several top Umno leaders apply pressure for a snap election to solve the political instability caused by Perikatan Nasional’s precarious hold on power.
Muhyiddin was dropped as deputy prime minister five years ago after he publicly questioned then-Umno president and prime minister Najib Abdul Razak over the 1MDB financial scandal.
A year later, Muhyiddin was sacked from Umno by the party’s supreme council.
Muhyiddin then joined forces with Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his son Mukhriz Mahathir to set up Bersatu, with the aim of defeating their former party in the 14th general election.
As part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, they succeeded in overthrowing the Umno-dominated BN.
In February this year, in what is now dubbed the "Sheraton Move", Muhyiddin took Bersatu out of Harapan and joined forces with BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and Star to form the PN government. He was later sworn in as the eighth prime minister, replacing Mahathir, who resigned.
Mohamad said Umno was resolving issues related to the seats that the party would contest in the coming general election.
"(Party vice-president) Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been appointed as the special committee chairperson for the purpose of negotiation with the states (Umno liaison committees)," he said.
"There were differences in terms of expectations between the Umno headquarters and the states, so we have to harmonise (the differences).
"We were not just looking at the parliamentary seats, but also the state constituencies," Mohamad added.
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