KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi rubbished claims by Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz that at least 25 Umno MPs have lost confidence in his leadership.
The Bagan Datuk MP described Nazri’s claims as similar to a “cartoon plot”.
“Loss of confidence from other MPs? Cartoon plot,” he told Utusan Malaysia last night.
Zahid's response came after Nazri told Malaysiakini that 25 MPs have signed a statutory declaration (SD) throwing support behind Sembrong MP and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
Nazri also claimed that Zahid continues to back PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the next prime minister, which the SD signatories including himself have strongly opposed.
The SD, he said, was signed in support of Hishammuddin because BN wanted a new representative in the event the party was summoned for an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Nazri, a former tourism and culture minister, has often called for Zahid to step down from his post.
His ongoing criticism began after Zahid allegedly signed a letter to the king pledging support for Anwar in October last year.
Despite Zahid’s subsequent denial, wherein his office claimed that the letter was fake, former Umno and BN secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa claimed otherwise.– The Vibes, June 24, 2021
