KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has fired back at Pakatan Harapan for accusing him of cooking up plans to disrupt the ruling party.
The Sembrong member of parliament said PH was just looking for others to blame for their internal issues, based on statements by its secretariat council and secretary-general Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
“I feel they are now very insecure.
“They are afraid of their own shadow and will put the blame on others instead of looking into the mirror.
“Their targets are now Barisan Nasional, Umno and me,” he said at the Parliament lobby today.
On Saifuddin’s statement that PH had proof that there was a plan to stop PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from becoming the next prime minister, Hishammuddin called on the ruling pact to stop coming up with conspiracy theories.
The former Umno vice-president said PH had now “shifted the goalpost” by accusing him of coming up with different plans.
“First, they said I wanted to exclude DAP and Parti Amanah Negara from joining a new government.
“Then, they focused on my articles saying I’m a racist when I was only talking about unity.
“Now, they are talking about me forming a back-door government.
“I don’t even know what that means. How do you do it?
“It doesn’t make sense. I don’t hold any position to make this happen.
“I’d say to them to just focus on managing the country because that’s what important.
“Why the obsession of wanting to become the prime minister and dwell on speculation, when these issues do nothing to help people on the streets?” he said.
On Oct 14, NST published a letter penned by Hishammuddin, where he shared his thoughts on the importance of unification, which must first be championed by political leaders.
He also stressed the need for leaders to be courageous and put their emotions aside.
Talks on the unification of Malay parties began recently, especially after Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad made the call for others to join Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia to unite the Malays.
Dr Mahathir said the community was becoming fragmented due to the presence of too many Malay-based parties, which would make electoral success more elusive.
His statement received criticism, but Hishammuddin cautioned Malay-based parties against taking an arrogant view of Dr Mahathir’s call for unity.
In an NST report on the same day, Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Seri Redzuan Yusof was quoted as saying that he had proposed to Hishammuddin that Bangsa Malaysia must be led by the Malays, to which the latter agreed.
The next day, PH secretarial council issued a statement urging Hishammuddin to stop his campaign for a new government without DAP and Amanah.
Hishammuddin said he was taken aback by the accusation and denied he had a role in attempts to destabilise the ruling coalition.
“Where have I said in my writings that we want to sideline DAP and Amanah?
“Where did I talk about racial politics? I’m talking about unity,” he said on Wednesday.