No Umno plot to oust Muhyiddin, says Shahrir

Veteran backbench MP stands up for deputy president's loyalty to party

JOHOR BARU: Veteran backbench MP Shahrir Samad has dismissed talk of a conspiracy to oust Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin and vice-president Shafie Apdal at the coming Supreme Council meeting.

“I do not see any plot,” said Shahrir, quoted by Star Online in response to a blog posting by the son of former Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Junid.

In the blog article on Friday, Akramsyah Sanusi had speculated that the Supreme Council, at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, would oust Muhyiddin and Shafie, who have both been critical of party leader Najib Razak. The two men were dismissed from the Cabinet in late July.

Shahrir, who is MP for Johor Baru and chairman of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club, said “certain people” liked to “pre-empt things without making efforts to verify whatever information they hear”.

Speculation about Muhyiddin’s future has heightened after he was seen as having aligned himself with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been at the forefront of a year-long campaign to remove Najib from office as party leader and prime minister.

However, Shahrir saw no need for action against Muhyiddin. He has proven his loyalty to Umno and Barisan, and was in Parliament to vote for the 2016 Budget, Shahrir said. “As an MP, he was there during the voting. Although it happened at night, he came, stayed and voted for it. So clearly his loyalty is with Barisan,” Shahrir was quoted as saying.

Umno is reportedly planning to hold the Supreme Council meeting on Tuesday at Parliament House, according to Azalina Othman, a minister in the prime minister’s department. However she said the party had not sent any notices to members.