"We Cannot Carry This Baggage Forever" - UMNO Sec-Gen Says About Najib

"We must continue this journey. We are not going to wait. We are not going to waste our time defending Najib," Annuar told The Malaysian Insight in an interview yesterday, 8 August. 

"We in UMNO cannot carry this baggage forever... it is entirely his (Najib) responsibility," Annuar added, in reference to Najib's charges.

Annuar's statement came hours after Najib was charged with three counts of money-laundering at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex yesterday.

The former Prime Minister now faces seven charges in total for the SRC International Bhd case, a former subsidiary of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). 

Free Malaysia Today reported Johari as questioning Najib's prominence during the campaign period for the recent Sungai Kandis by-election.

The division chief added that with Najib's corruption charges, putting him at the forefront of by-election campaigning would create a negative perception towards UMNO.

"The past president's (Najib) era is history. If UMNO doesn't change and defend its legacy — the cause of our rejection in GE14 (14th General Election) — then it is possible that UMNO too will become history," Johari was quoted as saying by theSun. 

"If a friend was previously rich and is now poor, or if he was in power and now no more, I think he should still be respected," Ahmad Zahid was quoted as saying by theSun at the parliament lobby yesterday.

He added that one should not step on another's head when he is at his lowest.

"We should be more considerate, even if we are not in favour of decisions made by that person," the UMNO president said.