The Sungai Petani Umno delegates meeting which was held today turned chaotic when most of the delegates refused to allow its division chief, Ali Yahaya, to speak at the function.

The 45-minute pandemonium broke out about 9.30am after the reading of the prayers and singing of the national anthem when a divisional committee member, Mohd Yusuf Lazim, stood up and expressed his dissatisfaction with Ali and requested that he stepped down as the division chief.

The situation became more chaotic when more delegates stood up, including the Wanita delegates, calling for Ali to resign, resulting in an exchange of words between the delegates and Ali's supporters.

Mohd Yusof said Ali was not qualified to be the division chief because he had created many problems for the party leadership and also his actions which many quarters, including government agencies, were not happy with.

The division's vice-chief, Firdaus Zakaria, and Puteri chief, Shahanim Mohd Yusof, who were on stage, also came down to join the delegates and called for Ali to step down.

Former Sungai Petani Umno division secretary Mohd Akhir Shafie claimed that more than 60 per cent of the delegates present wanted Ali to step down.

"We want to sent a message to the party leadership that Ali is not wanted in Sungai Petani.

"He is not qualified to be a divisional leader," said the division's former deputy chief Abu Bakar Ahmad.

He claimed that it was because of Ali that 10 party branches in the division were not able to hold their meetings and a branch was dissolved. Umno Sungai Petani has 130 branches.

Family spirit

Umno supreme council member Abd Azeez Abd Rahim, who was present to represent the party headquarters, intervened when the situation went out of control.

He asked delegates to calm down and allow Ali to speak, but the delegates would not budge from their stand.

Following which, Abd Azeez suggested that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator Jamil Khir Baharom to open the meeting, which was agreed by the delegates.

Met by reporters later, Abd Azeez said the party headquarters would help resolve the problems in Sungai Petani Umno in a family spirit and based on the party constitution.

- Bernama