Umno’s biggest enemy is itself, says Nazri

By admin-s On Jul 15, 2022

Former Umno Supreme Council member Nazri Aziz said the country’s biggest political party is its own worst enemy.

(FMT) – At a forum by Singapore’s Yusof Ishak Institute, Nazri was asked about efforts on extending the government’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pakatan Harapan (PH) on transformation and political stability.

The Padang Rengas MP said there were objections to the extension of the MoU, stemming not from the opposition but from within Umno itself, Astro Awani reported.

“I worry about Umno. I’m not worried about PAS or Bersatu. Umno is our biggest enemy right now,” he was quoted as saying.

He claimed that certain individuals within the party wanted the MoU to end and for the next general election (GE15) to be brought forward to avoid the charges brought against them in court, alluding to the “court cluster”.

The “court cluster” refers to prominent Umno leaders, including the party’s president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak, who are either on trial or have been convicted on charges such as criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering.

Nazri added that both Najib and Zahid had violated a 2009 agreement which stipulated that any party leader who faced charges in court should step down.

“Now, they’re dominating the party and breaking the promise they made,” he said, adding that the agreement was made when Najib was prime minister and Zahid was his deputy.

Najib is in his final appeal against his conviction for abuse of power and misappropriation of RM42 million of SRC International’s funds.

Zahid is on trial for 47 counts of money laundering and criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi and accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as home minister.