Newly appointed Umno supreme council member Mohamed Apandi Ali said his new role in the party should not be an issue since he is no longer the attorney-general.

"(Following my being replaced as AG), I am now able to exercise my right to associate with a party (Umno).

“A long time ago, I was a member of Umno. But when I joined the Bar Council, I left the party (then),” Apandi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

He also likened his return to the party to a fish returning to its spawning grounds.

Previously Apandi had told the Malaysian Insider in an interview that he had quit Umno in 1991, when he joined the Malaysian Bar.

Apandi was among 11 people appointed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the party’s supreme council today.

He said it was an honour to be appointed, and said he would help the party in its efforts to rejuvenate itself.

Apandi's appointment, however, has not been received well by everyone.

Kedah Umno Youth chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said appointing the former attorney-general was a political mistake, as the people knew about his alleged involvement in past scandals.

As attorney-general, Apandi had cleared former premier Najib Abdul Razak of any wrongdoing in the 1MDB and SRC International scandals.

Najib has since been charged for the SRC International case and is still being probed for the 1MDB scandal.