Zahid: Umno won’t tolerate members who speak ill of the dead

PETALING JAYA: Umno will not tolerate members who are insensitive towards any deceased elected representative, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Umno president expressed his condolences over the death of Balakong assemblyman Eddie Ng, who is from DAP.

“We will not accept our members making disparaging statements, even if the late assemblyman may have made hurtful remarks against us in the past,” he said when contacted.

Seputeh Umno vice-chief Razlan Rafii was heavily criticised after he tweeted yesterday that a “slanderer” had died and the country was now more “peaceful”.

He later deleted the tweet and apologised to Ng’s family, but made no reference to his earlier post.

Fellow Umno members also criticised him for the tweet.

“This behaviour is inexcusable. As Muslims, we must respect the deceased and the family,” tweeted Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin also called on Dr Ahmad Zahid to censure a party member over an insensitive tweet mocking Ng’s death.

“Learn from what happened. The public rejected the party because of individuals in the party that say and do the wrong things,” he tweeted.

On a possible by-election for the state seat, Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is Barisan Nasional chairman, said the coalition would nominate a candidate after the Election Commission announced that the Balakong state seat had been vacated.