Puad raps Noh for using Najib as ‘low-class excuse’ to join Bersatu

The Umno leader says Noh Omar was never a Najib Razak ‘die-hard’ and only wants to contest the Tanjong Karang seat.

(FMT) – An Umno Supreme Council member has taken a swipe at his former party colleague Noh Omar for using ex-prime minister Najib Razak as his “excuse” for joining Bersatu.

Rengit assemblyman Puad Zarkashi said Noh’s reason was a “low-class excuse” as the ex-Selangor Umno chief had never been a Najib loyalist.

“Noh Omar isn’t a Najib die-hard. What can he do to defend Najib now that he’s in Bersatu? In fact, Bersatu and (its president) Muhyiddin Yassin wanted Najib to be thrown in jail, the longer the better.

“The real reason Noh joined Bersatu is because he wants to contest the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat. He’s confident that the seat will be vacated,” Puad said in a Facebook post today.

The current MP for Tanjong Karang, Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi, is one of six former Bersatu MPs whose memberships were terminated after they declared support for the unity government.

They contend that they were sacked and did not leave the party, and therefore did not violate the anti-hopping law.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul is expected to announce his decision on whether their seats are vacated next week.

Yesterday, Noh said he had joined Bersatu as he was disappointed that Najib could not serve the rest of his jail sentence under house arrest.

The former six-term Tanjong Karang MP said Najib previously advised him not to join another party after being sacked from Umno, and that he had followed the ex-Pekan MP’s advice out of respect for him.

He also expressed hope that other Umno leaders disappointed with Najib’s situation would follow in his footsteps.