Najib credits Zahid with Umno's resurgence

UMNO AGM | When Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak axed Muhyiddin Yassin as his deputy in 2015, many were expecting Umno to implode.

The party has indeed undergone a schism, with former president Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin joining forces to form their own Malay party, Bersatu, in 2016 to go against Umno.

But if this year's Umno general assembly is anything to go by, the ruling Malay party is now back to full strength, or at least that is the image it tries to portray.

The credit for this resurgence, Najib said, goes to his current deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"Two years ago, my deputy at the time, created trouble. But Zahid stepped forward, he defended me.

"That is why Umno recovered with new strength," Najib said, in closing the general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

Zahid had replaced Muhyiddin in a cabinet reshuffle in June 2015.

He subsequently assumed the role of Umno's acting deputy president when Muhyiddin was suspended from the party in February the next year.

The pair go back all the way to when Zahid was Najib's political secretary in the late 1980s.

Photos of the two in their youth were splashed on the Dewan Merdeka's giant flat screen during Najib's speech.

He related how in 1988, Zahid, who was then Bagan Datuk Umno Youth chief, had asked for his help during the party elections.

"At the time Zahid was under intense pressure by the Bagan Datuk leadership.

"Zahid asked me to help officiate the Bagan Datuk youth division meet," Najib said, who was acting national youth chief at the time.

"I braved myself, I knew the leadership were really against him, but I didn't care.

"In the end Zahid won. Do you know by how big the majority was? 11 votes, my lucky number," he added.

Earlier, Zahid in his speech had praised and pledged his loyalty to his boss, twice making delegates stand up to applaud Najib.

"As long as there is life in this body, my loyalty to the president will not be divided.

"Let thunder roar in the sky, let lightning strike, my spirit will not fade," he said.

Both men had yesterday had their positions in Umno secured ahead of next year's party polls, with delegates passing a motion for the top two posts to go uncontested.- Mkini