Umno has appointed former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia to the party's supreme council.

This is to replace former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, who first accepted the seat on the council, but changed his mind about the appointment just hours later.

According to Pandikar, there is nothing unusual about Apandi reversing his decision. 

"This is quite normal. He at first accepted it, but later changed his mind.

"It's okay, it’s just a small position," he said, adding that the party accepted Apandi's decision.

Apandi was among 11 people appointed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to the party’s supreme council. on July 14.

Before his reversal, he likened his return to Umno to a fish returning to its spawning grounds.

However, the move was not received well by certain quarters.

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.

Former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was more scathing, terming the appointment and subsequent U-turn "amateur hour."

"The initial appointment was disappointing. This is now just embarrassing. We need to be a credible opposition. This is just amateur hour," he had said on Twitter.