SO UNPOPULAR IS NAJIB-TAINTED APANDI, HE FAILS TO HOLD ONTO SUPREME COUNCIL SEAT FOR MORE THAN A FEW HOURS: EX-AG SUDDENLY TURNS DOWN POST AFTER EARLIER CLAIMING IT WAS HIS ‘RIGHT’

FORMER attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, who was tapped to fill a spot in Umno’s Supreme Council today, has refused the post, saying it would be “unreasonable” for him to accept it.

Apandi was one of 11 to be appointed to the Supreme Council in an announcement by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi earlier today.

“After poring over it and thinking about it deeply, I feel it is unreasonable to accept the appointment as Supreme Council member.

“What plays out in my mind is that the appointment will open the floodgates to a variety of negative perceptions linked to my actions and decisions back when I worked as a judge and attorney-general,” he said in a statement today.

Zahid had earlier today appointed Apandi – alongside others such as a former Wanita Umno leader who lost in the May 9 polls Azizah Mohd Dun, former National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) chairman Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib and the heads of Umno’s three wings – to the Supreme Council in a major restructuring of the party’s leadership.

His choice drew criticism from political leaders, including Kedah Umno Youth chief Hazizy Zainol Abidin, who described Apandi’s appointment as a “political mistake” due to his being implicated in past scandals.

He said the choice also revealed Umno’s weakness in not being able to produce anyone with the skills to compete with the government.

It’s my right to be in Umno, says Apandi

Newly appointed Umno supreme council member Mohamed Apandi Ali said his new role in the party should not be an issue since he is no longer the attorney-general.

“(Following my being replaced as AG), I am now able to exercise my right to associate with a party (Umno).

“A long time ago, I was a member of Umno. But when I joined the Bar Council, I left the party (then),” Apandi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

He also likened his return to the party to a fish returning to its spawning grounds.

Previously Apandi had told the Malaysian Insider in an interview that he had quit Umnoin 1991, when he joined the Malaysian Bar.

Apandi was among 11 people appointed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the party’s supreme council today.

He said it was an honour to be appointed, and said he would help the party in its efforts to rejuvenate itself.

Apandi’s appointment, however, has not been received well by everyone.

Kedah Umno Youth chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said appointing the former attorney-general was a political mistake, as the people knew about his alleged involvement in past scandals.

As attorney-general, Apandi had cleared former premier Najib Abdul Razak of any wrongdoing in the 1MDB and SRC International scandals.

Najib has since been charged for the SRC International case and is still being probed for the 1MDB scandal. — MKINI

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT / MKINI