Umno will survive Tajuddin’s old stories, says council member

 

Razlan Muhammad Rafii said Tajuddin Abdul Rahman’s claims were “old news” which should not be entertained.

PETALING JAYA: An Umno Supreme Council member has described as “old news” an exposé by Tajuddin Abdul Rahman of Umno MPs signing declarations backing opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to be prime minister.

Razlan Muhammad Rafii said the revelation by Tajuddin were similar to the one made by former Barisan Nasional secretary-general Annuar Musa in January last year.

“It’s old news. Very old. We shouldn’t entertain such things,” he told FMT, adding that such exposés had not weakened the party one bit, as evidenced by the party’s victories at the Johor and Melaka state elections.

“Those who lose party posts normally have a lot to say, but Umno remains united,” he said, referring to Tajuddin’s recent removal from the Supreme Council on grounds he was critical of the party.

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Earlier today, Tajuddin claimed he was a “living witness” to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s efforts to get Umno MPs to sign the statutory declarations in support of Anwar.

He also claimed that some 130 divisional leaders had wanted Zahid to resign. Umno has 191 divisions.

Tajuddin also called for Zahid to step down “for the sake of the party”, and suggested that the position be handed over to Ismail Sabri Yaakob, a party vice-president, who is also the prime minister.

But Razlan said that the Umno constitution stipulated that the deputy president Mohamad Hasan would succeed Zahid and not Ismail. “I am not sure why he is bringing this matter up.”

Political observers have described Tajuddin as being an Ismail ally. Tajuddin, who is Pasir Salak MP, was appointed as ambassador to Indonesia in March. - FMT