Datuk Ismail Kassim reportedly quit Umno Tuesday night. — Picture by Razak Ghazali

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — Calling former Umno leader Datuk Ismail Kassim a “disease”, Perlis Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman Ameir Hassan said those like Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim’s brother were neither needed nor welcome.

Ameir questioned the timing of the Tambun Tulang assemblyman’s abrupt departure from Umno, noting it came only after Barisan Nasional (BN) lost power at the federal level.

“Why didn’t he make this decision before the elections? Why does he want to join PPBM now?

“If he wanted to join PPBM, it should have been before; in fact, way before because we do not want ‘diseases’ from Umno spreading into our party,” Ameir was quoted as saying in Utusan Malaysia.

Ameir stressed that Perlis PPBM will not accept any Umno members into its party.

In the same news report, state Umno secretary Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said the party was not notified of Ismail’s resignation and only learned of the matter through media reports.

“We are disappointed because as Umno member, we have supported him (Ismail) all these while.

“Maybe there is a personal reason and we respect his decision,” he was quoted as saying.

Ismail, who was among BN candidates to be Perlis mentri besar, reportedly quit Umno Tuesday night.

Ismail, who is also the brother of former minister and ex-Perlis MB Shahidan, claimed that he had toyed with the idea of leaving since 2008 and finally decided to do so after seeing the current state of Umno’s leadership, among others.

Ismail then said he wanted to join Umno offshoot PPBM to serve the people better.

The Raja of Perlis had rejected Ismail’s candidacy to be MB by saying he did not want a “puppet” for the role.