KUALA LUMPUR – Claims that democracy is dead in Umno are untrue, as the party’s supreme council had disagreed with a proposal that the top two posts remain unchallenged, council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zakarshi said today.
The council had deliberated a no-contest proposal at its meeting on January 5, and had rejected it, he said in a Facebook post today to rebut claims that rift within Umno had deepened, following approval of a no-contest motion by delegates at the party’s recently concluded annual general assembly.
“The proposal was rejected (at the supreme council meeting). The Umno president also disagreed. Umno had twice before held no-contests for the presidency, and the decision in both times were approved by the council, not the delegates,” said Puad, who was made Umno’s deputy permanent chairman at the general assembly last week.
This time, with delegates having voted on the no-contest motion which came from the floor, he asked how Umno could be described as undemocratic.
He also questioned why those pushing this view are so keen to contest in party elections this year, and reasoned that it is because Umno is now a party in the government.
“They want to contest, because if they win, they will become ministers. Someone said it: that if he wins, he will continue to support (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) as prime minister,” Puad added, without naming names.
He might have, however, alluded to former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, who has said he may consider contesting the president’s post.
Delegates were nearly unanimous in passing the motion of no-contest for the president and deputy presidents’ posts at the general assembly on January 14, effectively securing Zahid’s position in Umno as the party gears up to face state polls in six localities.
The party is due to hold its internal election for other posts by May 19.
Several Umno figures have objected to the motion, including former prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who said it may be unconstitutional, as well as former Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar. – The Vibes, January 18, 2023
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