6 Things You Should Know About Muhyiddin's Suspension From UMNO
Muhyiddin Yassin's other posts in the party, however, are maintained.
By Sadho Ram — 27 Feb 2016, 03:28 AM
"I will stay in UMNO, it's in my blood," says Muhyiddin
Suspended Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has announced that he will remain with the party.
"I have been in Umno since the 70s, so the issue of me remaining in the party or not does not arise," said Muhyiddin.
"I was chosen during the Umno annual general assembly. Would it be right of me to resign after I was chosen by the members?"
He said it won't be fair to the UMNO voters if he were to resign, adding that it was better to stay within UMNO and fix it
"I will not be able to continue to fight from within. If I'm no longer an Umno member, I would not have locus standi therefore I cannot criticise," he said.
"Now I am member I have a right to condemn what is being done by the Prime Minister."
Muhyiddin Yassin will lodge a report challenging his suspension from a high-ranking position within the the country's ruling party.
At a news conference on Thursday (Mar 3), Mr Muhyiddin said he would appeal to the Registrar of Societies (ROS), a department under the Ministry of Interior.
1. His suspension was a unanimous decision of the UMNO Supreme Council
"We have agreed unanimously to suspend Muhyiddin’s Umno deputy president’s post which will come into immediate effect. The suspension will last until the next supreme council elections," Party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said.
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2. According to UMNO Information Chief Annuar, President Najib chaired the Council meeting but was not involved in the discussion
Umno President Najib Razak and Vice- President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi were not involved in the discussion to suspend Muhyiddin Yassin as the party’s No. 2. Umno Information Chief Annuar Musa said Najib made the decision to exclude himself from the discussion as he felt he was directly involved in the matter.
"The president asked to not join in the discussion (to suspend Muhyiddin). The president went out. Zahid also went out," he told reporters at the Umno headquarters.
"I myself chaired the meeting after party president, Datuk Seri Najib Razak decided to take a neutral stance in the matter. The decision was made by the party's top leadership via a consensus and based on our desire to move forward," UMNO vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein said.
3. Zahid Hamidi will stand in to carry out Muhyiddin's duties as the Deputy President of UMNO until the next party election in 2018
Party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said president Najib Abdul Razak had decided that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will take over the duties of the deputy president. Zahid is currently one of the three vice-presidents in the party.
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A file photo of Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi and Najib Razak in Dewan Rakyat.
Image via The Malay Mail Online4. According to UMNO Secretary-General Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, all decisions were made based on the UMNO Constitution while taking into account the current political scenario
“Muhyiddin’s behaviour did not reflect that of a deputy president, which is to help the president strengthen the party. He also undermined the party,” Tengku Adnan said.
5. Speaking on the reason behind Muhyiddin's suspension, party Information Chief Annuar Musa said he was suspended because he did not perform his duties according to the party constitution
According to a provision in the party constitution, the duties of the deputy president is to help the president, Annuar said, and the party cannot function smoothly if someone does not perform their duties. Muhyiddin, he explained, did not perform his duties in helping the president, as laid out in the Umno constitution.
"For us, this (suspension) is a decision we were forced to make, because as a party, we have to have discipline, collective responsibility, and also we need to obey the constitution," he told reporters after the Umno supreme council meeting at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur today, where the decision was reached.
He further elaborated that while the decision was not easy, it was done in accordance to the party constitution and in view of the coming elections.
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6. Federal Territories UMNO Youth Chief Razlan Rafii, while urging members to not dwell on the past, said the "decision was made for the good of the party, the members, and of course for the rakyat"
As an experienced member who has held many high-ranking positions within the party, Muhyiddin should understand that this decision was made in the party's interests, Razlan said. He also asked that Muhyiddin accept the decision and calm down his supporters, for the sake of the party.
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Muhyiddin and Najib have been at loggerheads since the former started voicing out his disapproval of the alleged involvement of the Prime Minister in the ongoing 1MDB saga. Once a close team, the distance between both of them grew wider when Najib dropped Muhyiddin as his Deputy during his Cabinet reshuffling last year: