Ummi: Umno will go down to the grave

Controversial businesswoman sister of Selangor Menteri Besar quits as Umno member with immediate effect

KUALA LUMPUR: Businesswoman Ummi Hafilda Ali, no stranger to controversy, burst into tears on Tuesday over the sacking of Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin as she warned that “Umno will go down to the grave”

Ummi, a sister of Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali, was announcing that she was resigning as an Umno member with immediate effect.

“For what has happened to Muhyiddin and former premier Mahathir Mohamad, I, Ummi Hafilda Ali, as the main witness for (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim’s first sodomy case, resign as Umno member,” said Ummi. “I am embarrassed with Umno. I am so embarrassed.”

She was speaking with the media after exiting Muhyiddin’s house in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

She described the decision by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to drop Muhyiddin from his post as a disgrace and it would put Umno in jeopardy. “As a leader, if you don’t listen to the people’s voice, you will be destroyed.”

“For what has happened to Muhyiddin, I am sorry for saying this, Umno will go down to the grave.”

When asked about her meeting with Muhyiddin at his house earlier, Ummi said the former Deputy Prime Minister was calm and took his sacking “as fate”.

Najib has replaced Muhyiddin as Deputy Prime Minister with Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Zahid retains his ministerial portfolio.

Muhyiddin had spoken up on the 1MDB scandal during an hour-long closing speech at the Umno Cheras division’s annual general meeting on Sunday. Among others, he called on Najib to explain the RM2.6 billion in his personal banking accounts with AmBank Islamic private banking services, before the last General Election, as alleged by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report on Friday 3 July 2015.

Najib’s lawyers had sent the WSJ a letter asking whether the American newspaper stood by its story and what it actually meant by it. The WSJ replied the story was clear and that it stood by it.

Before the letter seeking clarification, WSJ had issued a statement that it stood by its story and that it would vigorously defend any legal action launched against it by Najib.