Najib to face 173 Umno chiefs tomorrow
Solidarity with embattled Umno president, or a grilling over controversies and scandals?
(Free Malaysia Today) – Umno president Najib Razak will meet 173 heads of Umno divisions at party headquarters tomorrow in the face of a sustained campaign of criticism from supporters of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Malaysiakini reports that an Umno source had confirmed the meeting would take place at Putra World Trade Centre at 3pm, with 173 of Umno’s 191 divisions having confirmed their attendance.
The meeting’s chief organiser, Cheras Umno division chief Syed Ali Alhabshee, has denied that the meeting was being held to deal with rifts in the party but other political observers have said the meeting would allow the division chiefs to question Najib on recent controversies and reported scandals.
Syed Ali, writing in his blog today, was critical of those who claimed that the Mahathir campaign to topple Najib was gathering pace and asked “responsible journalists” to “report truthfully and accurately as opposed to fanning hatred and spewing venom aimed” at dividing Umno. “And it’s sad to see veteran journalists and even academics jump on the bandwagon, frothing at the mouth, and allude to waning support for Najib,” he said.
