Make it official and hold party polls, Umno Supreme Council man tells Zahid on ties with Anwar

A member of Umno’s highest decision-making body has called for party polls to be expedited so that president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi can amend Umno’s previous stand rejecting cooperation with PKR chief Anwar Ibrahim.

Supreme Council member Zahidi Zainul Abidin said Zahid and his allies had continued to work with Anwar.

“If he has changed his mind, make a party decision that its members want,” he said to MalaysiaNow.

“If he says he wants to form new ties, let us hold a party election. Do Umno members agree or not and do they want to change their president?

“That is the best way,” he said.

Zahidi, who is also the deputy minister of communications and multimedia, said the Umno general assembly in March had endorsed the “No Anwar, No DAP” stand.

“But maybe the president has a different opinion now.”

MalaysiaNow had several times revealed efforts by Zahid, Anwar and former prime minister Najib Razak to topple the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

New claims making the rounds on social media say Umno’s Jerantut MP Ahmad Nazlan Idris and Jelebu MP Jalaluddin Alias have been persuaded to sign statutory declarations in support of Anwar as prime minister.

It is understood that the duo made their declarations to Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.

MalaysiaNow is attempting to confirm the matter with Mohamad.

Meanwhile, Zahidi said Zahid and his allies had put themselves first over the people who are struggling in the fight against Covid-19.

“Malaysians are trying to battle the pandemic as it involves the economy and their well-being.

“This is our main focus,” he said. “If the president is not sensitive to the people’s situation right now, I don’t know what to say.”

Yesterday, Zahid had issued a statement urging the government to convene Parliament within 14 days in the wake of two other statements by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Malay rulers, agreeing that proceedings should be held as soon as possible.

He said if Parliament was not reopened, the PN government under Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would be committing treachery towards the royal institution.

He also said a special meeting of the Umno Supreme Council would be held to decide on the party’s next move.

Muhyiddin recently said that a committee comprising members from the government and opposition had been formed to study all important matters before a Parliament sitting is held.

He also gave his assurance that any move to reconvene Parliament, which has been suspended since January under the state of emergency, will be decided by both government and opposition representatives on the committee.