KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has implied that disciplinary action previously executed against Umno members was actually a test of their love for the party.
Addressing delegates at the Umno general assembly here today, Zahid said the disciplinary moves, including suspension and sacking from the party, should reveal whether targeted members are genuinely “party people”.
“After being either suspended (from the party) or hit with more extreme actions, we want to see whether they are truly party people or if they are actually hidden enemies.
“If they are real party people, then they will not be making noise here and there (by) criticising the party from the outside, right?” he said in his winding-up speech.
His comments were greeted by thundering applause from the crowd of nearly 3,000 party leaders and delegates who had gathered in the Dewan Merdeka at the World Trade Centre for the final day of the Umno general assembly.
Zahid then pointed to Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam, praising the politician for not “stabbing the party in the back” when he was expelled from the party in 2020.
The sacking, which was believed to be linked to a leaked audio clip, was then reversed in September the following year when Lokman was accepted as an Umno Supreme Council member.
Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, added that the Umno Supreme Council is open to suggestions from party voices who have called for the Barisan Nasional linchpin to welcome back members who were hit with disciplinary action.
In a press conference later on, Zahid said that while the Supreme Council has received numerous appeal letters from those suspended from the party, it has yet to receive an appeal from those expelled.
The appeal, he said, is necessary for Umno’s disciplinary board and the Supreme Council to initiate a review of the disciplinary actions.
Following the 15th general elections (GE15) in November last year, several Umno figures were sacked and suspended from the party for allegedly breaching party protocol.
Among those sacked for going against party discipline during GE15 was former party Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and ex-Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar, while former vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and ex-information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan were suspended for six years. – The Vibes, June 10, 2023
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