JOHOR BARU – Khairy Jamaluddin, who was sacked by Umno yesterday, has some words of encouragement for comrade Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein after the Sembrong MP was handed a six-year suspension last night.
“Chin up, Hisham. This is far from over,” Khairy posted on his Instagram story while sharing a screenshot of a news article on Umno’s purge.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin tweeted: “Their evil must not make us lose our good,” ostensibly referring to his party suspension.
Khairy also shared a photo of the duo, saying that the two once served as Umno Youth leaders.
Hishammuddin led the youth wing from 1999 to 2008, while Khairy took the helm between 2008 and 2018.
Last night, Tan Sri Noh Omar said he was to be suspended but had asked to be sacked from Umno with immediate effect, and president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi agreed.
Six-year suspensions were also handed out to several other bigwigs, including former Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan, former Jempol MP Datuk Seri Mohd Salim Mohd Sharif, and Tebrau division chief Datuk Maulizan Bujang.
Echoing Shahril and Salim, Khairy added in another instagram story that his sacking lacked due process.
“Confirmed no due process. No show-cause letter, no disciplinary hearing.
“Summarily and unilaterally sacked from a party I have been loyal to for 22 years.”
Noh Omar also took a swipe at Zahid in a video posted on Facebook today.
The former Tg Karang MP reiterated that he would rather be sacked than serve a president who shows no respect for the party and its constitution.
In the video, Noh said the Umno Supreme Council met yesterday and made a decision to suspend him for six years.
This prompted him to request being sacked instead because the decision to suspend him was already made prior to him going before the disciplinary board.
“I was punished for speaking up and punished without a chance to defend myself.”
Earlier, Selangor Umno liaison chief Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said claims alleging that Noh’s sacking was due to his objection to a party motion not to contest the top two posts during the recent Umno general assembly were false.
Megat revealed that there were 16 reports lodged against Noh for sabotaging the party during the federal polls.
Explaining Umno’s decision to take action against Noh even before his meeting with the disciplinary board, Megat said this was because the investigation process had already taken its course.
“Perhaps, the board had called him in to explain its decision, that’s beyond me. But the process has taken place.”
A total of 42 Umno members have been similarly expelled with immediate effect, of which five are from the Pasir Gudang division, nine from Putrajaya, two from Tg Karang, and 26 from Pahang.
Previously, Khairy, who lost the race for the Sg Buloh parliamentary seat in the federal polls, had called for Zahid’s resignation after Umno suffered its worst electoral performance since its formation, while accusing the party of losing its way and needing “internal cleansing”.
Hishammuddin, meanwhile, is said to have led a separate faction against Zahid within Umno, and was one of 10 Barisan Nasional MPs who previously declared support for Perikatan Nasional chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister following the conclusion of the general election. – The Vibes, January 28, 2023
