Meanwhile, former primary minister and UMNO vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob has claimed that the sacking plus suspension of UMNO leaders was chose unilaterally by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, Mr Ismail Sabri said that Ahmad Zahid did not gather any kind of input from UMNO’s disciplinary board before arriving at the decision.
“It (the board) only informed (Ahmad Zahid) that there was a document against those falsely accused, ” he stated, adding that the plank did not advise Ahmad Zahid on the sacking and suspension of these affected.
As such, Mr Ismail Sabri said that this individual disagreed with the choice taken by the UMNO supreme council last Friday on the sacking and suspension of many UMNO leaders, including former minister and youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.
“I do not believe the decision on dismissals and suspensions. It was not made in compliance with the legal procedure, and is contrary to the particular principle of ‘natural justice’ and the right to defend oneself, ” he said.
Former UMNO secretary-general Annuar Musa also took a hit at UMNO, saying the removal of leaders was obviously a way to monopolize energy in the party.
“Firing folks who don’t agree is the easiest way for anyone to remain in power, ” he said in the Facebook post upon Saturday.
He added the purge will only show the actual cause of ‘dirt’ in the party.
“The ‘cleansing’ they are doing will only produce more grime because the real cause associated with dirt is still inside the party, ” this individual said.
Following the UMNO great council’s meeting on Friday, the party issued a declaration announcing it had sacked plus suspended several UMNO leaders for their wrongdoings during the recent fifteenth General Election (GE15).
“Among their wrongdoings, which includes for standing as independent candidates, applicants for parties aside from Barisan Nasional (BN) and being involved in helping opponent celebrations during GE15, ” said UMNO secretary-general Ahmad Maslan within the statement.
Apart from Mr Khairy, a supreme authorities member Noh Omar was also among those sacked for breaching party disciplinary rules.
Mr Khairy have been a vocal opposition of a motion in order to block UMNO’s best two posts – party president and deputy president — from being challenged at the party’s internal elections, which should be held by Might.
The motion was passed during the recent party common assembly and paved the way regarding Ahmad Zahid great deputy Mohamad Hasan to serve a minimum of another term.
Mr Noh, on the other hand, had publicly expressed his insufficient confidence in Ahmad Zahid and retired as the chief of UMNO’s Selangor section in November.
Meanwhile, former defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein, former UMNO information chief Shahril Hamdan as well as UMNO leaders Fathul Bari Mat Jahya, Maulizan Bujang and Salim Sharif have been hanging for six years.
A day before the announcement, Ahmad Zahid had declared that the party will undergo a “mass cleansing” to get rid of “saboteurs” and the ones who have “shot themselves in the foot”.