Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil today questioned why Muhyiddin Yassin did not defend himself despite being provided an opportunity to do so before he was suspended as Umno deputy president.

She said this in response to Muhyiddin's statement today which said his suspension decided yesterday was not in accordance with procedure .

"On behalf of Wanita Umno, I am disappointed and saddened that Muhyiddin did not attend (the Umno supreme council meeting) yesterday even though he was already informed of the meeting.

"We had hoped that Muhyiddin would explain the talk about the programmes and events of the anti-Najib campaign which were against the rules and spirit of our struggle," she told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Shahrizat said had Muhyiddin ( photo ) attended the meeting, it would have been a good opportunity for him to defend himself.

"Muhyiddin as Umno deputy president should assist the president; that is clear," she said.

Muhyiddin was yesterday suspended by Umno supreme council for his criticism of Najib.

Since he was removed as deputy prime minister in July last year, he had stepped up his criticisms against Najib after attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali refused to prosecute the prime minister.

This is over Najib receiving RM42 million from state-owned SRC International and RM2.6 billion from an offshore account in his personal bank accounts.

Najib had denied wrongdoing but the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is appealing the decision not to prosecute.

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