Ten Umno supreme council members will be pushing for deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin to be suspended during their meeting tonight, according to MyKMU.net.

Based on this, the portal, which is a staunch defender of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, said it expects the supreme council to suspend the number two for not attending last night’s closed-door presidential briefing.

Quoting a source, the report said the 10 have informed Najib, who is the Umno president, and secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor of their intention.

A spokesperson for the group said Muhyiddin’s action to hold a gathering to criticise Najib on the eve of the Umno assembly was unethical and created an awkward situation.

“We hoped the briefing last night will solve the friction ahead of the (parent body) assembly tomorrow.

“Unfortunately, the deputy president chose not to attend without a reason. This shows he is looking for division (in the party) as opposed to strengthening it.

“For the 10 of us, enough is enough! We want the supreme council to suspend the deputy president tonight until a full disciplinary proceeding is held.

“It is difficult for us to hold an assembly (under such circumstances). There are numerous agendas concerning the rakyat to be debated, instead of power struggle polemics,” he added.

However, the spokesperson said they are satisfied with vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal who attended last night’s briefing and for displaying an open attitude despite the differences.

“We can accept differences among leaders. What we cannot accept are efforts to continue widening the gap until it makes the grassroots anxious.

“If Shafie can attend (Najib’s briefing), why not Muhyiddin?” he asked.