The Friday supreme council conference was keenly viewed after UMNO chief executive Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said a day previously that the party will undergo “mass cleansing” to get rid of “saboteurs” and the ones who have “shot by themselves in the foot”.
He mentioned this included associates who allegedly sabotaged the party and it is candidates during GE15, 10 of who Ahmad Zahid determined by name during the party’s recent common assembly from Jan 11 to January 14.
The particular 10 politicians, who included Mr Hishammuddin, had sided with Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin in forming the new government, Ahmad Zahid said.
Mister Shahril had resigned as information main in the immediate aftermath of GE15, recommending Ahmad Zahid to consider responsibility for the party’s defeat by stepping down.
Mr Noh resigned as the chief of UMNO’s Selangor chapter in November after saying that he no longer had confidence in Ahmad Zahid.
Mr Khairy had been a singing opponent of a movement tabled during the recent party general set up. The motion had been to block UMNO’s top two blogposts – party president and deputy leader – from becoming challenged at the party’s internal elections, which must be held simply by May.
Whispers of such a motion had swirled as some notable party members came out to say they preferred for the posts to stay uncontested, citing the need to maintain party oneness as it rebuilds following its dismal functionality at GE15.
Ahmad Zahid mentioned during his party policy speech on Jan 13 which he was confident in the democratic process and would leave this to the delegates to decide on the issue. He had consistently maintained that he has been ready to defend their position.
Any time a no-contest motion was initially tabled by a good UMNO delegate through Negeri Sembilan later that day, it had been met with boos in the convention hall.
But the movement was passed with the general assembly the next day in a majority vote, paving the way just for Ahmad Zahid great deputy Mohamad Hasan to serve a minimum of another term.
Mr Khairy alleged in a TikTok video on the same day that some delegates’ seat tags at the convention hall had been removed, to be replaced with those of “imported” delegates who would press through the motion.
This prompted a rebuke by UMNO Sungai Besar department chief Jamal Yunos, who told reporters on Saturday that will Mr Khairy has been tarnishing the party by spreading baseless claims.
UMNO’s most recent leadership competition, in 2018, noticed Ahmad Zahid fend off challenges for the presidency from Mr Khairy and former veteran MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.
Mr Khairy was a three-term MP for Rembau, Negeri Sembilan before he was relocated to contest in the metropolitan constituency of Sungai Buloh in Selangor during the GE15 on Nov 19. Metropolitan seats are considered Pakatan Harapan (PH) strongholds. Mr Khairy ultimately lost in a seven-cornered contest.
The particular BN coalition – led by UMNO – emerged a distant third within the election by successful only 30 chairs, behind PH’s seventy eight seats and PN’s 74 seats.
But PH, BN and other parties possess formed an oneness government while PN – comprising Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) along with other parties – is in the opposition.