Umno has record of producing outstanding leaders like 'Bossku': Puad

Umno, unlike other parties, has a track record of producing outstanding leaders, according to its supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi.

He said this included “Bossku”, a term used for former premier Najib Abdul Razak, who is serving a six-year prison term and is facing multiple charges concerning the 1MDB scandal.

However, Puad (above) believes Najib was “toppled through slander” and was subjected to an “unfair” court process.

The Umno leader raised this in response to PKR lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim stating that if he had managed to convince Ismail Sabri Yaakob to join Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), the latter would not have become the ninth prime minister.

“That is correct,” agreed Puad, who also analysed Hassan’s future if he was still in PRM.

“If he had remained in PRM and did not join PKR, he would be still craving to be an MP.

“This is because PRM is not good at evaluating leaders. That is the difference with Umno,” he added in a Facebook post.

Unfulfilled promises

Puad also seized the opportunity to take a swipe at Pakatan Harapan, who had been critical of Najib, and to laud the policies and projects during the latter’s tenure from 2009 to 2018.

“Only now you know (cash aid) BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia) is good. GST (Goods and Services Tax), Pan Borneo (highway), MRT (mass rapid transit) and HSR (high-speed rail) are all good,” he added.

Puad said Hassan, who on numerous occasions expressed dissatisfaction with the administration, has just realised how difficult it is to be the government.

“Many promises are not delivered. A deluge of bureaucracy must be endured. It is difficult to even look for a dead body,” he said in reference to the Indian national who fell into a sinkhole in Masjid India whose remains could not be recovered.

“Only good at coming up with formulas,” he added in an obvious jab at Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Yesterday, Hassan praised Ismail as the best prime minister but it also appeared to be a thinly-veiled critique of Anwar Ibrahim.

Among others, he said during Ismail’s 15-month tenure, allocations were given to the opposition without strings attached.

On Monday, Perikatan Nasional chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan said the government laid out seven conditions for the opposition coalition to agree to in exchange for financial allocation for its MPs.

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