Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said suggestions on preventing the Umno presidency from being contested were "madness".
In a post on Instagram today, Khairy said doing so would be detrimental to democracy.
"Stop this madness. I believe the president is a fighter and will not back down from facing a challenger.
"There should be a contest. Do not kill democracy in Umno," wrote Khairy.
He was responding to news reports that a group of Umno division chiefs had gathered last night to express their view that the top two positions should go unchallenged during the upcoming party election.
‘It means he is brave’
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi immediately indicated he took note of Khairy's remark and responded to him in person with an emphatic "(I am) ready to fight".
This took place at the sidelines of the Umno annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur today when a group of Umno figures greeted Zahid who had just arrived.
Based on a video clip uploaded to Khairy's Instagram account, Zahid made the remark when he enthusiastically shook hands with the former.
After that incident, Khairy recorded another video clip in front of Zahid's portrait at the party headquarters.
"It means he is brave. I salute him. He is not scared. He told me 'ready to fight'.
"That means that if there is any effort to subdue democracy in Umno by tabling a motion for the top two positions to not be contested, it is contrary to the bravery shown by our president," said Khairy.
Zahid vs KJ: Round 2?
So far, Khairy is the only one to have publicly indicated an interest in challenging Zahid. Nominations have not opened.
Zahid won the presidency in 2018, staving off a strong challenge from Khairy and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
The party had postponed holding a leadership election twice - first due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then due to the 15th general election.
The upcoming party election, which must be held before May 19, will likely be a gauge of whether the party grassroots accepted the present leadership's decision to join forces with arch-rivals Pakatan Harapan.- Mkini
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