Division chief to Zahid: Give up Umno presidency
PETALING JAYA: It is high time Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi relinquished his position as Umno president and let the party move on and away from leaders who have contributed to its fall at the last general election, says Datuk Maulizan Bujang.
The Tebrau Umno division chief said Ahmad Zahid should end his garden leave, let go of Umno and hand over the reins to the current leadership.
“In recent days, there seems to be a movement by Dr Ahmad Zahid’s supporters to return him as the president,” he said.
“He seems to have dropped such hints in his column in Utusan Malaysia.
“This attempt by Dr Ahmad Zahid and his followers is not good,” Maulizan said, adding that it would be a setback for Umno to rise and move forward.
“It must be remembered that he was forced to take garden leave because there was no clear leadership when he was the president,” he said, adding that this led to some Umno MPs and division chiefs jumping ship to other parties.
Ahmad Zahid, who is facing 47 charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and corruption, had handed over his duties to deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan when there was an exodus from Umno last December.
Maulizan said that he was not a balaci (servant-boy) to either Ahmad Zahid or Mohamad and that he was saying this solely or Umno’s survival.
“There is nothing personal between me and Dr Ahmad Zahid. Umno would have continued to weaken if he had not taken garden leave.
“Now, Umno has stabilised and it is getting the confidence of the Malays under Mohamad as it is much more cleaner,” said Maulizan.
He also claimed that poorer Malays were now supporting Umno in the hopes that the party could help them stem the rising cost of living.
He also said that the middle and higher income earners too should be roped in for their support, along with Umno leaders who shared no history of cronyism and money politics.
“Dr Ahmad Zahid was elected democratically but he was not an effective president. Umno needs a breath of fresh air.
“Leave Umno to those who are running it now and do not even joke about returning now.
“If he is cleared of the corrupt charges, he can always offer himself to be re-elected for any party position,” said Maulizan.
In an immediate response, Ahmad Zahid said he did not know what Maulizan was referring to when he said “joking to return”, adding that he did not wish to comment on the division leader’s statement at this stage.
Even Mohamad seemed to be in the dark as to why Maulizan had raised the issue out of the blue.
“The statement is completely unnecessary,” said Mohamad.
“The sea in Umno is now calm and free from any tsunami; there is no need to shake things up.
“All leaders should concentrate on efforts to strengthen the party and plan the strategy for us to face the 15th General Election.”