‘Silent’ Zahid challenged to issue SD to show commitment to ‘no Anwar’ rule
Umno grassroots have stepped up the pressure against Ahmad Zahid Hamidi after he turned a deaf ear to persistent calls over the last two weeks for his resignation as president and for him to face the disciplinary board over a series of decisions seen as undermining the Malay party.
(MalaysiaNow) – They are now urging Zahid to show his commitment to “No Anwar No DAP”, an unwritten rule in Umno rejecting cooperation with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP.
Zahid, who in October last year wrote a letter to the palace backing Anwar’s bid to topple the Perikatan Nasional government that Umno is a part of, has remained largely silent over a series of statements by Youth and division leaders calling for his removal.
Now, some have challenged him to make a statutory declaration that he will stick to the unwritten rule.
And none other than a senior Umno leader from the administrative capital of Putrajaya is making the call.
Putrajaya Umno’s deputy chairman Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said Zahid should not turn his back on decisions by the Supreme Council.
“My request is simple. The president should issue an SD and pledge that he will not work with Anwar and DAP, and cease all efforts for a new political alignment involving them,” Faisal told MalaysiaNow.
Like other Umno leaders who have criticised Zahid, Faisal too made reference to Zahid’s ally, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan, who urged MPs from the party to write to the palace requesting the Agong to call for Parliament to convene during the emergency.
The call is in line with that of Anwar, who yesterday said he would file an affidavit in support of the move to have Dewan Rakyat sittings.
But Faisal said it is not consistent with the official party stand, adding that top party leaders have not been forthcoming with explanations.
