Umno supreme council member Nazri Abdul Aziz today dismissed advice from former senior minister Rafidah Aziz, for the council to keep Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in check.

Nazri said Rafidah is free to speak her mind but she has little clout.

“Rafidah is a nobody. We practise freedom of speech. She can bark all she wants,” he told reporters in Putrajaya today.

Rafidah, who was a long-serving Umno Wanita chief, yesterday cited the children’s tale about the emperor with no clothes in urging the supreme council to give Najib honest feedback.

Rafidah had also slammed those who said she is “anti-government” or “anti-party”, arguing that she had served Umno for close to half a century, beginning at a time when her critics were still in kindergarten.

Nazri, who is also tourism and culture minister, said Rafidah was defeated by Shahrizat Abdul Jalil as Wanita chief because she lost grassroots support.

“So she can say whatever she wants because at the end of the day, she lost to Shahrizat. No one listens to her now,” she said.