ANNUAR SAYS STOP DEFENDING NAJIB, BUT THAT’S NOT HOLDING ZAHID BACK
Focus on rebuilding Umno instead of wasting time on ex-PM, says secretary-general
UMNO secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa says the party should no longer defend former president Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Najib, who is facing seven criminal breach of trust charges, was described by Annuar as “baggage” that Umno could no longer carry.
“We must continue this journey. We are not going to wait.
“We are not going to waste our time defending Najib.
We in Umno cannot carry this baggage forever.
“There must be a cut-off. It is his (Najib’s) responsibility,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.
Annuar, who is Ketereh member of parliament, said Umno’s focus should be on rebuilding the party as it was bigger than any individual.
“Najib is one person, no one is indispensable.
“Najib is no longer the president of the party. To me, he is just a party member.
“Whether people support him, it is immaterial.
“The party is more important than any individual.
“Najib has relinquished his position and the party is under a new administration. We are going to do it the new way.
“We are not going to wait for Najib to settle his cases in court.”
Annuar said the 1Malaysia Development Bhd issue had nothing to do with Umno, and was neither consulted nor informed on the issue.
He said in the past, Umno leaders had to defend Najib given that he was the prime minister and party president.
His remarks came a day after Titiwangsa Umno division chief Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani had said it was a mistake to allow Najib to campaign in the Sungai Kandis by-election, given his corruption charges.
Johari had said that Umno needed a fresh start, where it prioritised leaders with integrity and credibility as its main agenda in its struggles.
His statement, however, came under fire from Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Zahid had said that friends should not be discarded just because they were no longer in power.
“Don’t kick a man when he’s down.”
He said Najib’s presence during the campaigning period was at the invitation of Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Lokman Noor Adam and done with the best of intentions.