[UPDATED] Annuar confirms sacking as BN, MN sec-gen

KUALA LUMPUR – Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa has been sacked as Barisan Nasional secretary-general.

The Malaysian Insight, quoting sources, reported earlier that BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi informed Annuar of the decision today.

Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reported that Annuar will no longer be Umno’s representative in Muafakat Nasional as well as the latter's secretary-general. 

He confirmed the sacking in a tweet in which he shared a screenshot of his WhatsApp conversation with Zahid, which also said that he was informed of the decision by the media.

“I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to helm the two positions," he said in his message.

Ramai yang minta komen..saya tiada apa komen buat masa ini..Tempoh bertenang... pic.twitter.com/8YjcEN7mtC

— Annuar Musa (@AnnuarMusa) January 5, 2021

Sources said Annuar’s positions in BN and MN will be assumed by Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

Ahmad’s appointments are effective immediately.

Of late, some Umno leaders and warlords have outright told Annuar to leave Umno and join Bersatu after he remained adamant in defending the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration.

During his Ketereh Umno meeting over the weekend, he said to his division grassroots that he steadfastly defended Muhyiddin’s party because of the Supreme Council meeting in October, where it was decided that Umno would back the PN administration en bloc.

He added that there have been no meetings since then to mark a change in the party’s stance or whether they will work with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim or Umno’s long-time nemesis – DAP.

He said that although it is all right to have differences in opinion between party members and leaders, party solidarity was critical to avoid Umno from going through another defeat in the next general election due to disunity and infighting.

Annuar reiterated that he is loyal to the party’s struggle and is the only member of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s previous BN cabinet, who did not leave the party to form Bersatu before the 2018 general election.

He said that his membership number is 000124, making him the 124th individual to have joined Umno and help resurrect the party after it was deemed illegal by the Registrar of Societies in the 1980s.

Annuar’s political background

Annuar is considered a maverick politician in Kelantan because he does not follow Umno's conventional direction at times.

He came into the limelight as a young leader with the Umno youth wing in the 1980s, and chose to take the side of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed when the latter was involved in a tussle with Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for the position of Umno president.

When Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister in 2004, Annuar was made the Kelantan Umno liaison chairman, but could not deliver the state in the 2004 general election.

Umno came close to nudging PAS in 2004 when there was only a one-seat majority in the Kelantan assembly.

He had also served as the youth and sports minister, hence his interest in football. The state managed to win the coveted Malaysia Cup during his time as the Kelantan Football Association president.

Annuar was considered one of Umno's better orators, but was unable to woo voters despite his strong stage presence.

Under him, Kelantan Umno lost badly in the 2008 and 2013 general elections to PAS, which was then led by the late spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and his then political protege Husam Musa.

It remains to be seen if Annuar can survive the present fallout in Umno as ally Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad remains in the background as a potential successor to the Umno leadership in the Ketereh division. – The Vibes, January 5, 2021