KUALA LUMPUR: Yet another narrative on the purpose behind the Nov 18 meeting between Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and several Barisan Nasional lawmakers has surfaced.
This time around, Gerik member of parliament Datuk Hasbullah Osman said Azmin had told the BN MPs to stay in their respective parties instead of jumping ship.
This, contradicts Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who said the BN MPs who attended the meeting at Azmin’s official residence last Monday were seeking advice on whether they should join other parties.
“What Dr Mahathir said was probably his own assumption because of the (PH’s) defeat in Tanjung Piai by-election.
“But, this is the truth. I remember it well, that Azmin said, don’t ever jump to other parties. Ask Azmin yourself.
“Let’s see who’s telling the truth and who is lying. This is politics, (no one) will tell the truth,” he said at the Parliament lobby here today.
Last Friday, Dr Mahathir said he was told by Azmin that about 22 BN lawmakers went to meet the Gombak MP because they had lost direction and weren’t sure whether they should join other parties.
Hasbullah also said that he had never asked Azmin, who is the PKR deputy president, to join Umno but was not sure if any of his party colleagues had done so.
“Let’s use logic. Why would someone in the government want to jump ship and become part of the opposition?”
Asked further on Dr Mahathir’s statement, Hasbullah said the prime minister might have some trick up his sleeve for making such remark.
“He’s a veteran and he’s an expert in politics. We may see the road ahead as straight, but it could be winding roads.
“We don’t know what Dr Mahathir meant. He may be saying ‘A’ but he could actually mean ‘B’.
“We (the 22 BN MPs) honestly didn’t even think about jumping to another party or becoming independents,” he said.
Azmin had previously described the Nov 18 meeting as a normal meet-up between MPs but other participants have provided different accounts of what happened.
Some claimed it had to do with projects for their respective constituencies while others claimed it was over the economy and the government’s Shared Prosperity Vision.