KUALA LUMPUR – The decision to expel Isham Jalil was made by the Umno Supreme Council itself, party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.
He said the decision was made without the need to go through the party disciplinary committee.
“The disciplinary committee will bring it to the Supreme Council, and the Supreme Council will decide. What is decided by the Supreme Council is final,” he said when responding to Isham’s claims that the sacking was decided by Zahid without his case being given a fair hearing by the disciplinary committee.
Asked whether the decision serves as a warning to those who criticise Umno and the party president, Zahid said that criticising the president was not a consideration when coming to the decision.
“However, when you insult your party and belittle Umno despite being a member, it means the actions will be dealt with by the Supreme Council so that there are no ‘tikus membaiki labu’ moves within Umno itself,” he said, citing the Malay idiom which refers to an ignorant person trying to resolve a problem only to worsen the situation further.
He went on to say that if such members continue to exist in Umno, the party faces further damage within.
Meanwhile, commenting on PAS vice-president Datuk Idris Ahmad’s statement that Umno should be grateful to Bersatu for accepting the party as part of the previous government, Zahid said PAS, by right, should be the one thanking Umno.
“… Idris does not know what was done by Umno, by right he should be the one to be thankful as before that he was also part of the opposition.
“At that time, the government was formed due to Umno’s contribution as PAS then had only 18 seats while Umno and Barisan Nasional had 68 seats overall… so it is them (PAS) who should be thanking Umno,” he said.
Earlier, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin had said Isham’s sacking was because his actions were deemed a threat to the party.
Khaled said Umno members should turn to the appropriate and established avenues to channel their dissatisfaction on internal party matters.
He said he viewed Isham’s expulsion as “a matter of discipline”, and that it was vital for a party like Umno to have a standard of conduct prohibiting members from speech or behaviour that could undermine party unity.
Earlier, the media reported that during the Umno Supreme Council meeting on Wednesday, a consensus was reached to expel Isham. This decision was purportedly influenced by his criticism of the party, perceived as divergent from Umno’s stance aimed at strengthening the unity government.
Yesterday, Zahid said Isham would soon receive a letter regarding his membership status. – December 9, 2023