Ahmad Zahid Hamidi: I can sniff out the mastermind behind Umno plot against Najib

(Malay Mail Online) – There is a “mastermind” behind the 34 Umno divisions that are allegedly planning a revolt against their party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

Ahmad Zahid added that he is able to “sniff out” the plans of the alleged mastermind who is purportedly seeking the resignation of Najib at the upcoming Umno general assembly next month.

“There is a dalang that has made use of 34 of these division leaders,” he said in Bahasa Malaysia, using the word for “mastermind”, which can also mean “manipulator.”

“This is not a threat, but as one of the Umno vice-presidents I am able to sniff out what is done by the manipulators to intervene in the matter and use the disunity among leaders to push for it,” he told reporters after speaking at the Malaysia-China High Level Economic Forum here.

But Ahmad Zahid said the decision made by these 34 divisions would not affect Najib’s leadership of the party as it does not represent all Umno divisions, which has almost 21,000 divisions across the country.

“Thirty-four leaders out of 21,000 divisions. Think for yourself, does that carry any weight?” he asked.

The home minister warned those seeking to pull strings from behind the scenes to stop their activities and instead use the proper channels to raise their unhappiness or criticism within the party.

“We are not trying to belittle their efforts but for me Umno has a specific rules system and constitution that determines how leaders are selected from divisions to states to national level,” Ahmad Zahid said, and urged all to respect the system.

Malay daily Sinar Harian reported on Saturday that 34 Umno division leaders from five states want Najib to step down as party president.

The group also reportedly plans to hold a mass protest against the current leadership next month, which they claimed has the support of 5,000 division leaders.