Umno sec-gen denies Zahid party’s PM candidate after acquittal

KUALA LUMPUR – Umno has not named its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as its new prime minister candidate following his acquittal of 40 corruption charges, the party’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said.

He said a letter being shared on social media naming Zahid as the party’s choice for prime minister was fake.

Ahmad posted on Twitter a screenshot of a viral letter bearing Umno’s letterhead, stating that it was fake.

Mudah sahaja utk mengetahui benar atau tidak jika ada kenyataan drpd saya - check semua saluran media sosial saya iaitu twitter, fb, instagram, tiktok.

Jika tiada, maka ianya palsu, fake. Dlm dunia ini mmg ada sekumpulan manusia jahat & bodoh yg kerjanya hanya membuat fitnah. pic.twitter.com/N8pRYSvDCj

— Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) September 24, 2022

“It’s easy to check whether something is true or not, just check all my social media accounts on Twitter, FB, Instagram, TikTok.

“If it is not there, that means it is fake. In this world there are a group of stupid and evil people who are only out to make slander,” Ahmad tweeted.

The letter also said that the Umno Supreme Council would be discussing the nomination of Zahid as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) prime minister candidate at a special meeting on September 30. 

Zahid is also BN chairman and Bagan Datuk MP.

On Friday, the Shah Alam High Court acquitted Zahid, without requiring him to enter his defence, of all 40 charges of receiving bribes and obtaining gratification for himself as home minister to extend the contract of a company operating a foreign visa system.

High court judge Datuk Mohd Yazid Mustafa said the prosecution had failed to prove that Zahid received monies, and that the key witnesses in the trial were not credible.

The letter also said that the Umno supreme council at a special meeting on September 30 would be discussing the nomination of Zahid as Barisan Nasional’s (BN) prime minister candidate. Zahid is also BN chairman and Bagan Datuk MP.

In April, the Supreme Council unanimously agreed to name party vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as its prime minister candidate. Ismail Sabri has been prime minister since August last year.

In recent months, however, Ismail Sabri has come under pressure from Zahid and those purportedly in Umno’s “court cluster” to hold an early general election.

The prime minister was also criticised when former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was sent to jail after the Federal Court dismissed his appeal in the SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case. – The Vibes, September 25, 2022