Umno will be at its weakest as long as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak remains as Umno president, said Mukhriz Mahathir.
Mukhriz said this at a press conference in Alor Setar to announce his resignation as Kedah menteri besar , after pressure from Kedah Umno.
"I'm sorry to say, as long as Najib is still there, Umno will be at its weakest point right now," he said to applause from his supporters who were flanking him.
"Scandal after scandal, we can't take it all. It's too much for us. This is traumatising all of us. We can't hold our heads high when we go overseas anymore," he said.
He said Umno's more than three million members mean nothing because no one can say anything against the president.
This was reflected in the Umno general assembly last year where Umno bucked tradition to only allow Najib to address the delegates in the opening and closing ceremonies.
Conventionally, the president, deputy president, vice-presidents and youth chief will address the assembly in their winding-up speeches.
"This childishness was also evident in (Najib's) opening speech where the VIPs present, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the (Umno) deputy president, were not acknowleged.
"They were blocked to that extent [...] This is the state of our party," Mukhriz said.
Mahathir, the former long-serving Umno president and fourth prime minister, is Mukhriz's father.
Mahathir is on a mission to oust Najib from the prime minister's post.
The coup against Mukhriz was initiated late last month by Umno Kedah deputy president Ahmad Bashah Md Hanapiah.
Mukhriz said Bashah will now take over as Kedah MB.
State secretary Bakar Din said the swearing-in ceremony will be tomorrow.
Official statement by the outgoing Kedah MB Mukhriz Mahathir. Read more here: https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/329189
Posted by Malaysiakini on Tuesday, 2 February 2016
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