Loyalty to party and nation, not individuals, Rafidah tells critics

Loyalty should be towards one’s country and party, not individuals, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz says, after Wanita Umno head Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil hit out at her for lacking respect towards the Umno leadership. Rafidah said she was a committed Umno member and would not stop criticising anyone who compromised the party, regardless of his or her position. “NO ONE should ASK for ‘support’ for leaders as INDIVIDUALS... Ask people to support the PARTY. “The PARTY and NATION should NOT bear the brunt of whatever action of people in positions of leadership...regardless AT WHATEVER LEVEL,” the former international trade and industries minister said in a Facebook post last night. Rafidah urged her detractors to stop being in denial over the cracks within Umno and the public unhappiness with the state of the country’s leadership. She said the world was watching the leaders and making their own conclusions. “We are all having to bear the fallout of all the issues... thats why I am speaking my mind... “I care for umno... I care for Malaysia. I pray always for the almighty to save this country..and have it intact for future generations,” said the former Wanita Umno head. In the past year, Rafidah has taken to Facebook to speak out on the country’s state of affairs. Rafidah’s recent post on the change of the Kedah menteri besar appeared to be the last straw for Shahrizat, who criticised her former boss on Friday and claimed she had been trapped in the games played by the opposition. Shahrizat said during Rafidah’s 22-year tenure as women’s head of the ruling party, the former minister constantly reminded them about discipline and loyalty, especially to the party president. “But she appears to have compromised her principles lately when she openly criticised the Umno president and made so many presumptions on the issues faced by the party and the country’s leadership.” However, she said Wanita Umno still held on to the principles of loyalty and supported the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak as party president and prime minister as he was genuinely concerned about the party’s struggles and the wellbeing of Malaysians at a time when the world was facing many challenges.