Tajuddin: Up to members to decide who leads even if Muhyiddin returns to Umno
Umno members can decide who will become party president in the next party poll if Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin agrees to return to Umno, said party supreme council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
When met at Penang today, Tajuddin said it is up to the Umno delegates to decide whether they will continue to support party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or Muhyiddin, if the latter rejoins the party he was sacked from in 2016.
"It is up to...
Umno members can decide who will become party president in the next party poll if Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin agrees to return to Umno, said party supreme council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
When met at Penang today, Tajuddin (above) said it is up to the Umno delegates to decide whether they will continue to support party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi or Muhyiddin, if the latter rejoins the party he was sacked from in 2016.
"It is up to the party members. It is the Umno members who will decide, not one or two individuals," said Tajuddin, who is the Pasir Salak MP and Prasarana chairperson.
"Anyone can become the Umno president, not just this or that particular individual," he clarified, adding, "I can be the party president too provided I get the support. However, (I have) yet to obtain any support. How can this happen?"
He reiterated that if Muhyiddin gets enough support from Umno members, then the Pagoh MP will become party president, whereas if Zahid continues to receive support then he will hold onto his president post.
"So, there is nothing permanent when it comes to a party post," replied Tajuddin, who was responding to a question on possible conflict for the top post.
Zahid, who is Bagan Datuk MP, won the presidency in the Umno poll held in June 2018, one month after BN lost the federal government in the 14th general election. The next party poll is expected to be held in 2021.
Tajuddin also believed that it is better for Muhyiddin, who is Bersatu president, to return to Umno so the leaders could discuss matters internally.
"So, the problem of having to discuss with another party will be resolved," he said.
On July 23, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan (photo) said Umno could change its decision to sack Muhyiddin if he agrees to return to the party.
Mohamad opined that it would be “better” if the Bersatu president returned to Umno as he would be a prime minister with the backing of a large party.
Bersatu presently has 31 MPs while Umno has 39 MPs.
These comments come as several top Umno leaders pressure for a snap election to solve the political instability caused by Perikatan Nasional’s precarious hold on power.
Muhyiddin was dropped as deputy prime minister five years ago after he publicly questioned then-Umno president and prime minister Najib Abdul Razak over the 1MDB financial scandal.
He was booted out from Umno a year later.
He later joined forces with Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his son Mukhriz Mahathir to set up Bersatu, with the aim of defeating Umno in the 14th general election.
As part of the Pakatan Harapan coalition, they succeeded in overthrowing the Umno-dominated BN.
In February this year, in what is now dubbed the "Sheraton Move", Muhyiddin took Bersatu out of Harapan and joined forces with BN, PAS, GPS, PBS, and Star to form the PN government. He was later sworn in as the eighth prime minister replacing Mahathir, who resigned.
This political coup soured his relationship with Mahathir.
