KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — Ahead of Umno’s annual general meeting on Saturday, party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi took to Facebook today with a cryptic posting about certain ‘brokers’ within the party allegedly trying to undermine Umno.
However, Zahid who is currently facing multiple court charges, urged for calm among party members, assuring them that he is very much ‘alert’ of the plans by the brokers, whom he did not name.
“I ask that Umno members, fighters and supporters of Umno not to worry. Just like you, I too know and am aware of what the broker is planning. All their tricks and lies, all the hypocrisies and lies are under watch and under the radar.
“Some of you doubt that as the Umno president I am not alert about their plans. I am alert. I am in fact alert that many negative perceptions are actively painted against me,” he said adding that he is ready to face the challenges for the sake of the nationalist party’s strength and Islam.
In his posting, Zahid said what the brokers intend to do to the party “is completely unacceptable”.
He said Umno cannot be pawned or used as a negotiation tool for positions.
“Umno is a party owned by the rakyat and millions of its members. Not owned by any parties for it to be sold and bought. God willing, as long I have the might and devotion, I promise that Umno will be defended,” he added.
The annual general meeting dubbed PAU 2021 which would take place this weekend, is expected to be one of the most anticipated ones this time around, as it would see the party deciding on its political cooperation with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Umno’s expected decision on January 7 to cut ties with Bersatu failed to materialise, and the party instead said it would determine the matter during its annual assembly later that month, which was since postponed.
Umno built up heavy anticipation for its supreme council meeting on January 7, after purporting that 189 of its divisions favoured ending its cooperation with Bersatu, but journalists who waited hours for a promised press conference were left only with a non-committal statement about the matter.
Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan said in the statement that the cooperation with Bersatu would be on the agenda when the party holds its 2020 annual assembly that was postponed from November last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
