Umno Youth treasurer wants Zahid appointed DPM

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should be appointed a deputy prime minister in the unity government, a party leader has suggested.

According to Umno Youth treasurer Johari Yazid, this is because the party discipline and hierarchy must be respected, come what may.

“As an Umno Youth leader, I have witnessed party members losing their direction following the defeat in the 15th general election (GE15).

“The defeat has thrown BN, which is led by Umno into a dilemma,” Johari (above), who is also Cheras Umno Youth chief, said in a statement today.

Despite its defeat, BN and Umno have been blessed with a second chance to still be part of the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, he added.

This, according to him, has naturally raised questions about the candidate worthy of becoming the deputy prime minister.

“In my opinion, Umno has to go back to the discipline and hierarchy to stabilise the party. We have to learn from the scenario where the appointed prime minister was not the party president, and this caused various problems in the party.

“We cannot cheat ourselves by denying that there are factions within Umno on the road to GE15. This was a contributing factor to BN’s defeat and we must embrace this with an open heart,” wrote Johari.

Despite the court cases still faced by Zahid, often cited by his detractors in their argument on why he should not be appointed DPM, Johari noted that Zahid was still the legitimate Umno president until the party elections next year.

“He also won (the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat) in GE15. Calls within the party for the president (Zahid) to resign are not a definite solution. I still think that the hierarchy should be respected.

“This is not the time to point fingers and find fault for BN’s and Umno’s poor performance in GE15. This is the time to find a solution for the party’s survival. At times like these, solidarity with the president is crucial,” Johari added.

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