KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today slammed critics who he said are fixated by the party’s “court cluster” even though none of them will be vying for a seat in the Johor election.
The former deputy prime minister said certain parties were constantly badgering voters to reject Umno on the grounds that many of its leaders are currently facing court charges.
He likened those obsessed with these Umno leaders to a virus variant, except that it is not transmitted physically but through spiteful behaviour.
“I call this variant the ‘court cluster obsession’. The symptoms are simple. Everyday they harp on about the court cluster, court cluster, court cluster,” he said in a Facebook post today.
“Any issue in this country, the cause is always the court cluster. The fall of Pakatan Harapan? Court cluster. Sabah election, court cluster. Melaka election, court cluster. And certainly now the Johor election, court cluster.
“Almost nothing in this country has not stemmed from the court cluster.”
In particular, Zahid named former prime ministers – Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad – as key individuals with fixations on the group of Umno leaders.
Muhyiddin had said last Friday that the only way to stop Umno’s court cluster from expanding its power and influence is to ensure Barisan Nasional’s defeat in the coming Johor polls.
On Tuesday, Dr Mahathir made a similar call, warning that the state election is meant to strengthen Umno’s court cluster.
In response, Zahid said: “The fact is that no one from Umno labelled under the court cluster is contesting in Johor, and they are also leaving their fate to the court.”
He added that the persistent attacking of Umno ahead of the Johor election could be down to the presence of the party leaders in the state in recent days.
“Or perhaps this is Dr Mahathir’s way of taking a subtle dig at Muda’s court cluster representative Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who is also going on the narrative that saving Malaysia starts with Johor.”
Johor will head to the polls on March 12. – The Vibes, February 17, 2022
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