Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin is free to speak his mind, said party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

"He is free to do what he likes, according to his own thinking. It is for others to judge whether he is right or wrong.

"As deputy president of the party, he should know better," the Gua Musang MP told reporters outside the Dewan Rakyat today.

Tengku Razaleigh ( photo ), who is better known as Ku Li, said this when asked on Muhyiddin’s claim that former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted him (Muhyiddin) and not Najib Abdul Razak to replace fifth prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Umno veteran added that it is up to the disciplinary committee to decide if Muhyiddin had done anything wrong.

Muhyiddin had previously been removed as Najib's deputy for being too critical of 1MDB.

He lamented that he is now alone in his struggles, and that other Umno leaders are too cowardly to fight for the truth behind 1MDB.

Muhyiddin's replacement in the cabinet, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has asked the former to leave Umno if he doesn't agree with Najib's leadership.