KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — Axed from Cabinet, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin cannot be arbitrarily removed as Umno deputy president as the party elected him to the position, the party’s deputy permanent chairman Tan Sri Mohamad Aziz has said.
Mohamad was responding to the demand by some Umno leaders for Muhyiddin be removed as party deputy president, and said not even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak was entitled to execute such a move.
“The government, and Cabinet may be up to Najib, his right to decide, but not Umno.
“Umno belongs to the people, it is the right of the 3.5 million grassroot members on who should lead the party, no one else,” Mohamad told Malay Mail Online when contacted this week.
He explained that it was the party members who put Najib and Muhyiddin in their positions, and it will be the same delegates who decide whether or not they should be replaced.
“As it stands, there is no reason for Muhyiddin to resign or be removed as Umno deputy president because he has not done anything wrong,” added Mohamad, who is also Johor state assembly speaker.
Mohamad has criticised Najib’s move in dropping Muhyiddin and party vice-president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal from Cabinet, saying that the move will eventually destroy Umno.
He further questioned the wisdom of Najib’s advisers, and said Umno must now live with the consequences.
The calls for Muhyiddin’s ejection as Umno's Number Two came from Sungai Besar Umno chief Datuk Jamal Md Yunos who urged the Pagoh leader to voluntarily resign.
According to Jamal, Muhyiddin’s absence from Umno’s top tier will ensure a more effective administration of the party.
Yesterday however, Muhyiddin was reported by The Star Online news portal to have promised to remain loyal to the Umno president as demanded by the party constitution.
Najib had abruptly cut Muhyiddin from government in a hastily-convened news conference in Putrajaya Tuesday, announcing another Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will take the deputy prime minister post.
Rumours of the axe on Muhyiddin had been swirling on the political blogsphere in recent days and increased after last Saturday when the Umno veteran urged Najib to explain fully the “real facts” surrounding 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), claiming few ministers to be fully apprised of the state investor.
This resulted in a rare public rebuke from the Prime Minister’s Office, which urged Muhyiddin and other members of the administration not to pre-judge the ongoing investigations on 1MDB.
A video recording was also leaked Wednesday showing Muhyiddin claiming to guests at his Damansara Heights house that he had confronted Najib about a RM2.6 billion injection into the latter’s personal bank accounts from a Middle East source.
Malay Mail Online was unable to immediately verify the authenticity of the leaked video, but former minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir who was present at the meeting confirmed the incident captured on camera was genuine.
