Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today pledged his loyalty and strong support for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the face of the trials and slander that Najib had to put up with.

The deputy prime minister said the political arena was witnessing the persecution of Najib as the main leader of the administration and that, as the No 2, he himself was also feeling the effects.

"Certain quarters are deliberately attacking the centre of gravity, the prime minister, who heads the institution of leadership, to paint a bad picture of the government, and this must be addressed.

"As the No 2, I will not leave the prime minister to face the tribulations all by himself, but will stand by him," Zahid said when closing an international conference on the role of loyalty in prospering the nation at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre in Putrajaya.

Also present at the event were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom and the religious adviser to the prime minister and chairperson of the Wasatiyyah Institute of Malaysia, Abdullah Md Zin.

Zahid said his pledge of loyalty was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but came after careful consideration of the demands of religion, thought and culture from the perspective of Malaysia.

He said the tendency by some quarters to import foreign culture made the country's political arena no longer a platform to find consensus but one that was used to conspire and spread slander and insults.

He said this culture seemed to provide pleasure when someone was defamed, while the purveyors of the slander tried to get away unscathed.

"That's the nature of the moment, and it is done with a purpose, which is to place themselves at the peak of power," Zahid said.

- Bernama