KUALA LUMPUR – Khairy Jamaluddin says he finds it difficult to trust Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, saying the party president has “lied” on several occasions.
The senior Umno member, who is also former party youth chief, pointed out Zahid’s actions of late and apparent lack of direction.
Khairy said this includes Zahid’s willingness to “lie” to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong through a letter claiming that all Umno MPs had thrown their support behind opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“I have trust issues towards the Umno president. Last October, he (Zahid) sent a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah in his capacity as Umno president to state that all Umno parliamentarians supported Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister,” he said, as quoted by Agenda Daily.
“In fact, I was not consulted, or asked by the president (to support Anwar), let alone given him permission to use my name. This is the first incident that involved trust problems,” said the science, innovation, and technology minister to reporters after visiting a proposed vaccination centre in Seri Iskandar, Johor, this evening.
Khairy’s remarks come after Zahid announced the total withdrawal of Umno’s support for Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Perikatan Nasional government last Thursday.
However, on Friday, Umno vice-president and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob claimed that 31 Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs are in agreement to allow the current government to continue until a confidence motion is tabled in the Dewan Rakyat next month.
Despite Ismail Sabri’s claim, some Umno lawmakers listed among the 31, including Tan Sri Noh Omar and Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, have denied going against the party’s stance.
Khairy, who is also coordinating minister for the national Covid-19 inoculation drive, highlighted a recorded telephone conversation between Zahid and Anwar, which was allegedly a fabrication but later determined to be true.
“Secondly, when it came to the recording of the conversation between the president and opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, he denied it at first and wanted to file a police report. However, he later admitted the recording was authentic,” Khairy said.
Khairy also said Zahid attempted to deceive Umno MPs when it came to announcing the party’s decision to withdraw support for the Perikatan Nasional government.
He said Zahid claimed the decision was resoundingly supported by the Supreme Council, when Umno MPs had a different view on the matter.
“How can I trust a president like this, let alone about this new decision that is claimed to be unanimously supported by the Supreme Council, even when there are some MPs who are council members who made a different decision?” he asked. – The Vibes, August 8, 2021
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