Paranoid Puad tickles me, says Khairuddin

The Batu Kawan Umno man says he is tickled by Puad’s accusations that online news portals are fuelling an internal party crisis in Umno.

PETALING JAYA: “Ow! Stop tickling me, Puad Zarkashi,” Batu Kawan Umno vice-chairman Khairuddin Abu Hassan has pleaded with the Umno supreme councillor in reference to his allegation that news portals are fuelling an internal crisis in the party.

He suspects that Puad, like “a few other Umno leaders”, is suffering from paranoia.

Puad today urged the Home Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Mutimedia Commmission (MCMC) to investigate the “masterminds” behind FMT, The Malaysian Insider and MalaysiaKini.

Khairuddin, who shot to prominence with his police and MACC reports against 1MDB, said Puad and others like him should realise that any crisis in Umno could only be caused by weak leadership.

“No one can split Umno if the party has leaders of quality, particularly those who champion the people,” he told FMT. “I acknowledge that Umno is the party most capable of championing the interests of our people of diverse racial backgrounds. But sometimes there are weaknesses and mistakes in our leadership of the party and the nation.”

He said “paranoid leaders” like Puad were no longer relevant. “It’s leaders like them who make Umno unpopular,” he added.

“I find it amusing that when some of us speak to the alternative media, a small number of Umno leaders accuse us of trying to destroy the party. At the same time, they don’t see anything wrong when the mainstream media give space and time for opposition leaders to thrash veteran Umno leaders.”