JOHOR POLLS | Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was full of praise for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who has been convicted of money laundering, abuse of power and criminal breach of trust.
Zahid said Najib's aura has remained strong even after he was no longer the prime minister.
"Bossku's aura has never faded. When he was the prime minister, his aura was very great.
"Even after he was no longer the prime minister, his aura still remained great," Zahid told supporters in Mersing, Johor today.
For this reason, Zahid said he roped Najib in for BN's election campaigns, which have seen the coalition score victory after victory.
"In the by-elections, we won 7-0, in the state elections, we won in Sabah, Malacca and God-willing we will win in Johor," he added.
"Malu apa bossku" (What is there to be ashamed of, my boss) is a slogan that Najib's team has used to rebrand his image following his ouster as the prime minister in the 2018 general election, amid the 1MDB scandal.
Zahid was speaking after Najib delivered a speech to welcome disgruntled Bersatu members back to BN's fold.
Umno is an open party
Among those present was Mersing Bersatu chief Laili Yusof who quit his party and declared his support for BN candidates in the Johor polls.
Zahid said he accepted Laili's re-admission into Umno. He also announced that Umno would re-admit former Johor Bersatu chief and Tebrau division head Mazlan Bujang who quit Bersatu in January.
"We accept Mazlan, Laili and others, including those at the branch level.
"Please report back that Umno is an open party. Even if they do not rejoin Umno, we have our BN advisory board chairperson (Najib).
"According to BN's constitution, there is a clause that allows for direct BN membership," he added.
As campaigning for the Johor polls is about to enter its final week, Zahid said he hoped Umno and BN would emerge on top.
He also slammed Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Bersatu for trying to replace BN and Umno.
"There is a party that wants to replace Umno. They didn't just take our red colour but also formed a coalition using blue.
"Those are fake colours to mislead the people, particularly voters. Umno and BN are the original red and blue," he said.
Corruption charges
Zahid is facing 47 counts of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and bribery over tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi, a charitable organisation he founded.
He is also facing 40 charges of bribery involving more than RM43 million for the Foreign Visa System.
Najib is appealing his 12-year jail sentence and RM210 million fine at the Federal Court over the misappropriation of funds belonging to SRC International Sdn Bhd, a former 1MDB subsidiary.
Campaigning for the Johor polls kicked off on Feb 26. Johoreans will go to vote on March 12. - Mkini
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