SHAH ALAM – In less than 24 hours after former Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman slammed the party and its president for his removal from the party’s leadership, mixed reactions were garnered, with some supporting him while others did not.
Umno Youth Exco Datuk Muhammad Muqharabbin Mokhtarrudin called Tajuddin’s action stupid and said that his removal from the party’s supreme council was justified.
"I agree with the supreme council’s decision which made a very accurate decision.
"I respect him (Tajuddin) as an Umno veteran, but his action and the attitude shown yesterday proved that he is not fit to hold the position in the supreme council, and I suggest that he should not even be the country’s Ambassador in Indonesia,” he said in a statement.
He said that Tajuddin should give space for other leaders to serve the public as many younger leaders and government officials were fit to be Malaysia’s Ambassador to Indonesia.
Commenting on Tajuddin’s statement that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was not fit to be the party’s president, Muqharabbin stressed that the decision was made based on the previous election.
He also highlighted that Zahid was charged in court after being the party’s president and Umno was pressured while it was not in power.
"Finally we realised that even the president was in court every week, but Zahid and his leadership had successfully elected Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri as Prime Minister and we need to realise that BN, even though have no financial but we managed to win seven elections including in Melaka and Johor.
"We should not reminisce the past, we have to focus on the 15th General Election (GE15) which will be held at any time,” he said.
Muqharabbin added that the mandate should be given to the public and BN should have a chance to restore the country’s stability.
The party’s name, he added, should not be tarnished yet again with immature statements just because Tajuddin wanted to protect his friends.
"As supreme council members and Exco, we are bound by responsibility and promises.
When all of the minutes of meetings were exposed after he was removed, it showed that Tajudin is an irresponsible and untrustworthy leader.
"It is better that he rest and focus on the afterlife and his grandchildrens,” he said, adding that other leaders should lead the GE15 in Pasir Salak.
On June 21, Tajuddin was removed as Umno supreme council member. Zahid had said the sudden termination of Tajuddin as a supreme council member wasn't surprising as the Pasir Salak MP himself should know the reasons for his removal.
Former Selangor Barisan information chief Isham Jalil was appointed on June 24 to replace Tajuddin.
Yesterday, Tajuddin in a tell-all press conference claimed that Zahid was not qualified to lead Umno and he needed to step down respectfully.
He also alleged that all of the decisions reached in the Supreme Council meetings so far were not what the members wanted but it was what Zahid had wanted.