KUALA LUMPUR: Arau member of Parliament Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim admitted that he had openly 'invited' Barisan Nasional to join Perikatan Nasional in forming a new federal government.
Speaking at a press conference today, he acknowledged that his actions were no longer a secret, as he had publicly discussed the matter several times during his speeches at political events.
"In our speeches, we invited Umno to join us and never stopped talking about it. Pas MPs also mentioned it in their speeches," he said.
Shahidan, however, denied ever having a face-to-face meeting with BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to discuss the matter.
"I should be called a hero. I don't need to be the mastermind or the troublemaker. If I want to say something, I'll say it.
"If I want to suggest changing the government, then change the government.
"Regarding PN wanting Umno to leave (the unity government), why the need to hide it? Everyone is talking about it. However, I need to check (on claims about his meeting with Zahid) because this is a serious matter.
He said this when asked about Zahid, who on Sunday dropped a bombshell, revealing attempts to persuade BN to withdraw from the unity government and form a new one, with an offer of the prime minister's position in exchange.
Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, however, did not reveal who made these attempts.
"With the spirit of Bumiputera, Malay and Islam, we need to unite. We unite not to fight with others, but to become stronger, which will, in turn, stabilise the economy," Shahidan added.
Meanwhile, Pengkalan Chepa MP Datuk Dr Ahmad Marzuk Shaary denied that Shahidan was the mastermind behind negotiations with BN for this purpose.
"If it's said that Arau was the mastermind trying to negotiate with BN to withdraw support, that's not true. What do we have to offer (to BN)?
"As the opposition, we don't even have allocations. What can we offer them? Unless they do it voluntarily.
"If any (BN representatives) came, it wasn't because of us; it stemmed from the awareness that arose among the representatives of that coalition themselves," he said.