‘WE WON’T FORGIVE YOU NAJIB … WE ARE NOW BEING CURSED & RIDICULED’: IN STRONGLY-WORDED STATEMENT UMNO BANDAR TUN RAZAK DISTANCES FROM NAJIB AS DISCOVERY OF ‘TREASURE TROVE’ STIRS MALAY DISGUST

KUALA LUMPUR – Umno’s Bandar Tun Razak division will never forgive former party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak if he is found guilty of the allegations of corruption levelled against him.

Datuk Rizalman Mokhtar, who is seeking a new mandate as the division chief, said this while stressing that he is not rushing to conclusions about the accusations against the former prime minister.

“I am neither (accepting) nor dismissing the allegations. But we at Umno Bandar Tun Razak will never forgive him if these allegations are true and if he is found guilty in a court of law after he gets a fair trial.

“Still, all of us at the division here are holding out hope that he is in the right, and that his name can be cleared,” he said at a press conference after launching the divisional meeting to select the party’s top brass.

Rizalman said he and the grassroots are “especially frustrated” following the police’s declaration that items seized from homes linked to Najib in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) probe are valued at RM1.1 billion and counting.

Its division chief Datuk Rizalman Mokhtar said this while stressing that he is not rushing to conclusions about the accusations against the former prime minister. Pic by NSTP / MOHD YUSNI ARIFFIN

“We thought that the opposition was just slandering him, it didn’t occur to us there couldn’t be smoke without fire. But now, we are very frustrated,” he said, referring to the haul of luxury items, including hundreds of pieces of jewellery.

Rizalman said Najib’s status as a thoroughbred Umno leader that the division had wholeheartedly backed is now hanging in the balance.

“Barisan Nasional (BN) lost power as the ruling party, and Umno is in this position because of these doubts. We are now being cursed and ridiculed.

“But if the allegations are found to be untrue, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has to come out and apologise to Umno for the humiliation we have faced,” he added.

Rizalman also called on Umno members to embrace their new position as leaders of the opposition.

“We have to do what PKR vice president Rafizi Ramli did. He himself admitted that his role was that of an instigator. We too have to do it for the good of the people.

“We in Umno and BN cannot waste time. We have to hit the ground running and play a credible role without living in denial. We need to rejuvenate the party and provide a check and balance for the people,” he added.

– NST