There is a clandestine move to oust Muhyiddin Yassin from his deputy president’s post in Umno, claimed Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Md Yunos.
"In my opinion, Muhyiddin must be fired and we (Umno) are trying to compile a list of Umno division chiefs to support the move.
"If I were the prime minister, I would have sacked him a long time ago, not just as Umno deputy president but also as Umno member," Jamal told Sinar Harian .
More than 100 Umno division leaders have held closed-door meetings to discuss ways to kick out Muhyiddin and his supporters.
Social website Johor Bangkit claimed there are 140 Umno division chiefs who are backing Muhyiddin's ouster. Umno has 199 divisions nationwide.
Jamal (
photo
) said Muhyiddin's behaviour was why they wanted him out of the party, though Umno Hulu Langat division chief Johan Abdul Aziz advised party's leaders to take the less drastic action of disciplinary action against Muhyiddin.
The former deputy prime minister has been seen to be vocally critical of 1MDB, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's brainchild, and was subsequently sacked from his cabinet post in late July.
Last Saturday, Muhyiddin released his strongest statement yet, calling Umno leaders cowards for not speaking up at a time of national crisis.
However, several other Umno division chiefs have denied talk of any plot to oust Muhyiddin. Umno Klang division chief Nasaruddin M Zin said there was no move among the division chiefs to topple Muhyiddin.
"However, whether Muhyiddin is relevant or not, I cannot answer that. He is relevant if he respects the party president, but not if he doesn't respect the president.
"We still respect him (Muhyiddin) as Umno deputy president," Nasaruddin said.
Muhyiddin not targetted
Umno Kapar division chief Faizal Abdullah also denied the speculation, though he admitted that they have urged for the 'gunting dalam lipatan' (scissors hidden in folds) to be removed.
"But we aren't targeting Muhyiddin. It was a general call," Faizal said.
Najib mentioned 'enemies from within' in his Budget 2016 presentation, though he did not name them.
According to Umno Besut division chief Nawi Mohamad, talk on the ouster of Muhyiddin was circulated on the social media to create division within the ruling party.
Meanwhile, Umno Kelantan information chief Md Alwi Che Ahmad has advised Muhyiddin to keep discharging his duties as deputy president.
"He (Muhyiddin) cannot simply be removed (from his deputy president’s post) because the power to fire him lies with the members,” Md Alwi said.
Political analyst Samsu Adabi Mamat said if Muhyiddin was kicked out of Umno, it would lead to a bitter split within the party.
"If the Umno division chiefs want to remove Muhyiddin, they have to be careful.
"This is because Muhyiddin not only has influence within Umno, but he also carries the sentiments of Johor," Samsu said.
Sacking Muhyiddin will only make things worse for Umno, he warned.
The main beneficiary, should Muhyiddin be sacked from the party, will be his chief rival, newly-minted deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid.
