Zaid: Milan ‘coup’ plot not the right way

'Use proper means to replace Najib, not by secret meeting between Daim, Muhyiddin, Nazri, Mustapa'

KUALA LUMPUR: Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has objected to speculation of a Milan Coup conspiracy to oust Najib Razak, with the names of Daim Zainuddin being linked to the presence of Muhyiddin Yassin, Nazri Aziz and Mustapa Mohamed in Milan, Italy.

Writing in his blog today, Zaid, who is spending the weekend in a Japanese village, relates a telephone call about a meeting of the Umno bigwigs to hand over the premiership to Muhyiddin, the deputy prime minister and deputy Umno president.

Muhyiddin is leading a government delegation which includes Nazri,  Mustapa and several Umno MPs to an industrial exposition in the Italian city and for tourism promotion efforts.

“I don’t know if this meeting will ultimately result in Najib being replaced, but I just don’t approve of this kind of surreptitious move to replace elected leaders,” Zaid wrote. “I don’t know how reliable my source is, but I hope this is not part of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s plan to change the leadership.”

Zaid called for change through legitimate means befitting a parliamentary democracy: either through change of party leadership, or by a confidence vote in Parliament.

He said Parliament should have a debate about the prime minister and whether there had been any misconduct or misfeasance in his handling of the controversies surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd. “Let the accusers put forward their arguments and allow members and, through them, the rakyat, to consider the matter before putting it to a vote. A secret meeting in Milan is not the democratic way.”

Even without these shenanigans, Malaysia was already in deep distress because of corrupt leaders.

“Corruption is the biggest problem we face,” he said.

Although Zaid mused that no one appeared willing to help weed out the problem, he once again also put forward Umno stalwart Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah as being the best candidate to replace Najib, for being uncorrupt and being committed to the democratic process.

“We won’t find any other leader alive today who is willing to do this,” Zaid said, urging the opposition and Najib’s fiercest critic, Dr Mahathir, to unite behind Tengku Razaleigh to save Malaysia.