KUALA LUMPUR – Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman says he feels no animosity towards party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi despite being sacked as its election director.
According to Malaysiakini, the Pasir Salak MP said he had accepted the party’s decision with “an open heart”, but was uncertain if Zahid had the same feelings.
“I do not have any problem with the president, (but) if he has a problem with me, I don’t know. If you want to know, ask the president,” he was quoted as saying.
Tajuddin, a vocal critic of Zahid, was stripped of his position as the party’s election director this evening.
In a statement, Zahid said Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who is fondly known as Tok Mat, has been entrusted with the role effective immediately.
The restructuring of the election department, according to Zahid, is necessary to strengthen the organisation at every level of the party, as well as the grassroots.
Tajuddin said he was confident that Mohamad would make a good election director and his appointment would allow the party’s machinery to work effectively.
“I don’t feel angry or resentful, I’m only happy,” he said.
“I have other work to do. (When) the role was retracted, I was relieved.”
Tajuddin also denied that his removal from the post was related to the leaked audio of him criticising the party leadership during the Supreme Council’s meeting last Wednesday.
Yesterday, it was reported that Tajuddin lashed out at the party leadership over deviating from its plan of fully withdrawing from the government, according to a leaked audio clip.
During the meeting, a livid Tajuddin told his cohorts that pulling the plug on the prime minister alone, and not Perikatan Nasional (PN), was not the decision made during its general assembly in March.
He did, however, say it is not the right time for Umno to fully remove itself from the government.
The leak also comes after Zahid announced Umno no longer supports Muhyiddin, citing seven failures of the government in administering the country.
Tajuddin chastised the party’s apparent ill-preparedness in facing the upcoming general election.
“If we pull our support (for PN), some of us will ask ‘what’s next?’. What’s going to happen? Do you want an election?”
In the clip, Tajuddin said he had been a long-time supporter of Zahid, but “this time, I beg to differ”. – The Vibes, July 13, 2021
