Tourism and Culture Minister and UMNO Supreme Council member Nazri Aziz put out a stern warning to his party’s deputy president and former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin: if Muhyiddin persists in criticising Prime Minister Najib Razak, Nazri will spearhead a movement to have UMNO suspend Muhyiddin’s membership.
“This is a final warning, Muhyiddin is misbehaving and we cannot go on like this,” Nazri told The Malay Mail Online‘s Shazwan Mustafa Kamal yesterday.
“If he cannot be a team player and still continues attacking the president, I will move a proposal at the next Umno supreme council meeting to get him suspended as deputy president.”
Nazri added that while regular UMNO members were free to voice their dissent with the party president, those in senior leadership positions were not, as the UMNO constitution states that they “have to assist the president to the best of your abilities”.
Nazri also claimed that many UMNO grassroots members disliked Muhyiddin for displaying his arrogance in the face of Najib’s presidency and national leadership.
“Don’t be too cock sure that you are strong, the Umno delegates who voted for you in the past did not show any concern when you were dropped as deputy prime minister.
“I am one of them. The truth is that Muhyiddin has not functioned as the deputy president we elected and hoped for.”
Muhyiddin has been critical of Najib’s handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and the PM’s evasive answers on the issue of the RM2.6 billion “political donation from Saudi Arabia”.
On July 28 last year, Muhyiddin was dropped from his Cabinet position of Deputy Prime Minister, along with several ogther Cabinet members. Also fired that day was former Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail. Muhyiddin was replaced by Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Muhyiddin still retains his position as Deputy President of UMNO.
