Don’t let one man cause party’s downfall, says Umno Pagoh leader

Pagoh Umno's deputy chief Ismail Mohamed calls on party leaders not to be brown-nosers and risk being part of the cause of the downfall of the Malay party. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Seth Akmal, August 8, 2015.Umno leaders should not allow one man to single-handedly be the cause of the downfall of the largest Malay-based party in the country, Pagoh Umno deputy division chief Ismail Mohamed said.

He told Pagoh Umno delegates at the division's annual general meeting today that the grassroots could no longer bear the shenanigans of the party's top leadership.

"May Allah guide our leaders. We do not want one man's hand to destroy our party.

"Society cannot stand to see Umno fall," Ismail said in his speech at the Dewan Pekembar in Pagoh, Johor this morning.

He also reminded Umno leaders not to become brown-nosers, saying that this would only destroy the party.

Without mentioning any names, the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Committee chairman said Umno leaders were ruining the very party that their forefathers had tirelessly built up and defended.

"Leaders should go on leave, step down. We do not want to see the destruction of the party that our grandfathers and grandmothers created for the Malays.

"We are sad that our leaders are willing to destroy Umno. Their parents fought for Umno," he said.

Ismail said they could not allow such leaders to go on, as the grassroots were tired of their attitude.

"We cannot let this continue. Wake up, leaders out there, stop your brown-nosing. You can't take your positions to the grave."

Also present at the meeting was Umno deputy-president and Pagoh Umno chief Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak dropped Muhyiddin from the Cabinet on July 28 after the latter publically criticised Najib over the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal.

Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi replaced Muhyiddin as the deputy prime minister.

Ismail also noted recent developments with the police taking action against anti-graft officers over alleged leaks of official information from the probe into 1MDB.

Seven Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers have been questioned and two senior officers were suddenly transferred yesterday, all in the midst of the agency's probe into a 1MDB subsidiary, SRC International Sdn Bhd.

"(This) has never happened before. With MACC officers performing hajat prayers, the situation is that bad," Ismail said, referring to the prayers held by staff of the agency in response to police raids and arrests of some of their officers.

At the meeting today, Muhyiddin was greeted with banners with the words "We believe Allah is with the righteous" and "we stand with Tan Sri", in reference to the Pagoh MP.

Ismail also ended his speech with multiple cries of "hidup Umno" (long live Umno) and "hidup Tan Sri" (long live Tan Sri), which were directed towards Muhyiddin.

- TMI