THIEVES FIGHT? ZAHID PRACTICALLY ACCUSES RIVAL FOR UMNO NO.1 POST KHAIRY OF STEALING HIS IDEAS

UMNO presidential hopeful Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said one of his rivals had “stolen” his ideas to reform the party and made it his.

At a meeting with delegates from Umno Federal Territory at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today, Zahid said the person was tasked with coming up with reforms for Barisan Nasional and Umno within 100 days.

“He came up with the outline in 30 days.

“But now, in his campaign, he says he will do this and that when he becomes president,” Zahid said at the closed-door meeting. His speech, however, was played through the speakers in the hall outside the room.

Zahid, 65, also promised that, should he be party chief, he would not be an autocratic leader.

“We don’t want an autocratic president. If I win, I will consult the deputy president, the vice-presidents and the supreme council about reforms needed and forward them to delegates at a meeting or general assembly,” he said.

After the meeting, Zahid was asked whether the leader he was referring to was Khairy Jamaluddin.

“I will let him use whatever he would like to use  ,” was all Zahid said before leaving.

This year’s Umno polls is set to be one of the closest contests in years. The last time Umno delegates voted for its president was in 1987, when Dr Mahathir Mohamad contested against Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

 This year’s five-way contest is between Zahid, Khairy, Tengku Razaleigh, Mohamed Iqbal Maricair and Mohd Yusof Musa@Jamaluddin.

More than 100,000 delegates will vote for the main office bearers and supreme council members on Saturday.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT