PUTRAJAYA: No disciplinary action will be taken against the 14 Umno division heads in Kedah who expressed dissatisfaction with Mukhriz Mahathir as menteri besar.
Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said today that the 14 divisional leaders had acted according to the party constitution.
They only voiced their dissatisfaction with Mukhriz, who is also head of Kedah Umno, and left a decision on him entirely to the party president.
“They voiced their unhappiness with their state liaison head but they said it was up to the party president to decide, they did not pressure him to resign. They followed the constitution, they had a discussion among themselves first before issuing a statement on their dissatisfaction with their liaison head…this is provided for in the Umno constitution,” he said.
He explained that disciplinary action was taken recently against several Umno branch leaders in Negeri Sembilan because they had called for Najib’s resignation.
Tengku Adnan said the Umno constitution had provided that leaders at the branch, division or state level could be removed if two-thirds of the committee members did not agree with their respective heads.
The 14 Kedah Umno division leaders constituted “more than two-thirds”, he said. “So they expressed their voice and asked the party president to make a decision, not pressure (for resignation) as was done by the (Negeri Sembilan) branch heads.”
He said the party leadership was aware that some branches were not in agreement with their division leaders. “So some have exploited the situation using the 20 per cent at the branch level who did not agree with the division heads concerned.”
“So, these are two different approaches,” he said.
On threats by some dissatisfied branch leaders to burn the Umno constitution, “I said if they want to burn (the party constitution) they might as well resign as Umno members”, he said.
Tengku Adnan said Kedah Umno division leaders who attended a meeting with Najib in Kuala Lumpur yesterday had unanimously agreed to abide by, and wait for, a decision of the party president.
Asked whether the Kedah Umno crisis would affect Umno’s performance as a whole, Tengku Adnan said it was not a crisis but that they were dissatisfied with their state liaison head.
— BERNAMA
KHAIRUDDIN: DECISION SHOWS FAVOURITISM AND BIAS
Tengku Adnan’s decision was swiftly derided by Mahathir loyalist Khairuddin Abu Hassan who accused the Umno secretary-general of displaying “favouritism and bias”.
In an online posting, the dismissed Batu Kawan Umno vice-chairman made insulting remarks about Tengku Adnan, calling him a first-class otak udang (idiot)” and a “weak minded boot licker”.
Saying that Tengku Adnan “always act as if Umno is his property”, Khairuddin urged his supporters to be patient, hinting that Tengku Adnan would meet his comeuppance at the next general election.
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