Umno meeting cancelled to avoid heated debates, says supreme council member

Umno's Kinabatangan MP Datuk Bung Moktar says when things are calm, more things can be discussed, as opposed to now when the situation is tense where a good discussion can easily turn sour. – The Malaysian Insider pic, July 29, 2015.

Friday's Umno supreme council meeting was cancelled to avoid a heated debate that was expected following the sacking of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from his position as deputy prime minister in yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle.

Supreme council member Datuk Bung Moktar Radin said it was necessary to cancel the meet in order to cool the situation, given the current political scenario in the Malay-based party.

"When there is a cancellation, it means that there are things that need to be fixed.

"Maybe it is to avoid tension among Umno leaders themselves, so we need to settle the situation by letting everyone calm down first," he told The Malaysian Insider.

The turmoil in Umno was expected to come to a head after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday dropped party number two Muhyiddin as deputy prime minister. One of the party’s vice-presidents, Shafie Apdal, was also dropped.

Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today announced the cancellation even as Najib finds himself in the spotlight after his drastic axing of the two senior leaders.

Muhyiddin and Shafie were expected to use the supreme council meeting to voice their dissatisfaction towards Najib. The cancellation has put paid to that.

Several Umno divisions have cancelled the invitations they had sent to Muhyiddin and Shafie to officiate their annual general meetings.

Bung, who is also Kinabatangan MP, said the matter could only be resolved through discussion if the situation was calm.

"When things are calm, we can discuss a lot of things, but if the situation is tense, a good discussion will turn sour," he added.

Meanwhile, a party source said that Najib had bigger plans for the two axed Umno senior leaders after dropping them from the Cabinet.

"He has his own plans; it’s like he has something bigger planned," the source told The Malaysian Insider.

The source did not discount the possibility that Najib was waiting for the situation to calm down before carrying out his "bigger plan".

"Maybe he wants things to cool down a little. Then when the situation is calmer, maybe Najib will move to sack them from Umno," he said.

Earlier today, Muhyiddin told reporters he was confident that his position as deputy president of Umno was secure.

By convention, the deputy president in the lead Malay party in the ruling coalition, is also the deputy chairman of Barisan Nasional and the deputy prime minister.

He said he was not worried about the supreme council meeting this Friday and expected it to be a "routine" meeting.

"I don't feel as though I am barred and I am not worried about attending (the meeting) because those in the Supreme Council are experienced, open leaders and will give room for everyone to air their views," he said.

Umno veteran leader Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin, meanwhile, said Najib's move to reshuffle the Cabinet was made too hastily.

"Najib is seen to have made proper preparations in reshuffling his Cabinet, but it is just that his move seems too hasty," he said.

Zainuddin said that the Cabinet reshuffle and the termination of Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail as Attorney-General were seen as moves to shore up Najib’s leadership in government.

Najib has been under pressure to resign over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.

"The moves were made despite the need to urgently complete the 1MDB investigation report, which shows that Najib only wanted to save his political career," he said, referring to Gani's role in the special task force investigating the debt-ridden fund.

Muhyiddin and Shafee have been openly critical of the government’s handling of the 1MDB controversy.

- TMI