KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin is now demanding that Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi step down as party president, just hours after he urged for the party to hold fresh elections.

"Step aside, sir. It’s time,” Khairy tweeted earlier today, after Zahid openly said he would not back down amid growing internal pressure to unseat the Umno chief and former deputy prime minister.

Yesterday, Khairy called for fresh Umno elections amid a stream of lawmakers quitting the beleaguered Opposition party, which many party leaders blamed on Zahid Hamidi’s leadership.

Khairy and a growing number of party strongmen have openly accused the Umno president of failing to provide leadership after taking over from Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The former Umno youth chief lost the race for Umno presidency to Zahid in party elections earlier this year. Last night, he retweeted a posting that demanded Zahid’s resignation and fresh polls.

Just yesterday, six MPs had left Umno. This comes after three other MPs — Jeli MP Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Bagan Serai MP Datuk Noor Azmi Ghazali, and Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin — joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. Another, Labuan MP Datuk Rozman Isli, joined Parti Warisan Sabah.