Umno man: Why did Muhyiddin speak out only after losing power?
Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan questioned why ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin made allegations of judicial interference only after he lost power.
Shahril said this in response to Muhyiddin repeatedly alleging that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had tried to convince the then prime minister in 2020 to get the corruption cases against him to be dropped.
"If this happened when the Perikatan Nasional government was formed as...
Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan questioned why ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin made allegations of judicial interference only after he lost power.
Shahril said this in response to Muhyiddin repeatedly alleging that Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had tried to convince the then prime minister in 2020 to get the corruption cases against him to be dropped.
"If this happened when the Perikatan Nasional government was formed as claimed by Muhyiddin, why did he only talk about it during the Johor polls which were two years after the formation of the government?
"Why did the story only come out when he was under pressure from Umno?" he said, adding that Muhyiddin only made the allegation when Umno no longer served his interest.
Muhyiddin, who is also the Bersatu president, pulled his party from the Pakatan Harapan government in Feb 2020, leading to its collapse.
He then formed a new coalition with PKR defectors and the opposition at the time, including Umno, to take over the government.
Short-lived tenure
Muhyiddin was sworn in as the prime minister in March 2020 but his tenure was short-lived after a group of Umno MPs in August last year similarly engineered a coup against him and installed their vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob in the top job.
"When Umno lent its majority (to Muhyiddin), he kept silent. But when Umno no longer wants to be with him, it's a different story.
"In other words, (Muhyiddin's claim) is either a fabrication or he coveted the position of prime minister. Pick one," he said.
Shahril said Zahid had led Umno to victory despite facing pressure from the authorities.
It is for this reason, he added, Umno's opponents now feel uncomfortable.
Zahid is facing 47 charges of money laundering, criminal breach of trust and bribery over tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi, a charitable organisation he founded.
He is also facing 40 charges of bribery involving more than RM43 million for the Foreign Visa System.
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