Shahbudin: Umno branches turning anti-Najib

The branches may, one by one, demand that Najib Abdul Razak step down as Prime Minister.

KUALA LUMPUR: A political analyst, keeping count, noted in his latest blog posting that five Umno branch chiefs in Gombak have become the latest party leaders to reject the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and demand that he step down. “They are alarmed at the possibility that the crisis of confidence in Najib’s leadership and his bad image would result in the people rejecting Umno and the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th General Election in 2018.”

“How many other branches in Umno will emulate Gombak?”

The speculation is rife, said Shahbudin the analyst, that many Umno branches throughout the country are on the verge of demanding that Najib step down as Prime Minister. “Will they face the same fate as Teluk Kemang?”

“Will Najib, coming under increasing pressure at the branch level, continue to cling on to his premiership?”

The five branches in Gombak were listed as Delima Lembah Keramat, Taman Melawati, Kampung Kemensah Hilir, Jelatek Permai and Lake View in Batu Caves.

These branches, noted Shahbudin, follow in the footsteps of branches in Teluk Kemang, Sepang, Puchong and many branches in Johor. “What’s interesting about the five branches in Gombak is that their declaration comes within days of nine Umno branch leaders in Teluk Kemang being suspended by the Umno Disciplinary Board for six years for making the same call i.e. asking Najib to step down.”

It’s clear, said the analyst, that the branch leaders in Gombak are willing to face the risk that they may suffer the same fate as those in Teluk Kemang. “They may even be sacked for not heeding the message from Teluk Kemang being suspended.”