Rumah Bangsa : No Conditions To Return, UMNO Practises 'Forgive And Forget'

By Hasnah Jusid

PONTIAN, March 8 (Bernama) -- UMNO's Rumah Bangsa initiative does not impose any conditions because it is based on the concept of "forgive and forget" to strengthen unity in the party and the struggle of the Malay race.

UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Maslan said the initiative is a noble idea as a unifying platform to strengthen the struggle of the party and the Malay race in UMNO.

"We do not impose any conditions. No one needs to apologise to anyone. We want to forgive and forget. If we want to bring up, there are many things that can be brought up, but when we keep bringing up, in the end no one will want to come back," he told Bernama here, last night.

Ahmad Maslan who is also a Rumah Bangsa Committee member, explained that the decision to rejoin UMNO depends entirely on the individual concerned since the party is now opening its doors wide to former members who were sacked, suspended or who have previously left the struggle.

"Whoever wants to come in, come in. If you don't want to, that's fine. We have stated that this approach is unconditional as mentioned by the UMNO president," he said.

Last Friday, UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said UMNO had opened its doors wide to any former members who had been sacked and suspended to return to the party unconditionally.

Ahmad also recalled the event in 1996 when Parti Melayu Semangat 46 was dissolved by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and all its members were readmitted into UMNO en bloc unconditionally.

Ahmad Maslan who is also the Pontian Member of Parliament, said the Rumah Bangsa initiative was in line with the spirit of Ramadan which emphasises the value of forgiveness for the sake of the greater struggle.

“Perhaps they (former members) have also realised their respective mistakes. So the thorns that were once sharp may now no longer be thorny. We want to forget everything that happened in order to strengthen the party’s struggle,” he said.

In KUALA LUMPUR, UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin described the Rumah Bangsa initiative as an awareness that the party is not just a political movement, but rather the most important bulwark for the survival of the Malay race.

He said UMNO is a 'big house' established to protect and develop the race and it does not belong to anyone personally, but rather is a home for the entire Malay race.

Mohamed Khaled said if UMNO were to be replaced with another house, it would not be comparable as the party's relationship with the Malays was too deep, like blood is thicker than water.

“UMNO is a platform that connects colonialism with independence. It lifts a nation from poverty to a prosperous nation and glorifies Islam as a progressive religion.

“In all its good and bad, UMNO remains a bulwark that protects and preserves the dignity of the nation,” he said in a statement today.

Yesterday, former UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar was reported to have expressed his intention to rejoin the party through the Rumah Bangsa initiative.

-- BERNAMA