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Joseph Sipalan

The president of Malaysia’s Umno has denied abandoning disgraced ex-prime minister Najib Razak to save himself, as fissures emerge in the former ruling party over the mixed legal fortunes of two of its top leaders.
Umno grass-roots members have urged President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to quit Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government in protest after the High Court blocked Najib’s bid to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest last month. It also handed the one-time party figurehead a fresh 15-year jail sentence for corruption linked to state fund 1MDB.
In contrast, the attorney general last week cleared Ahmad Zahid of corruption charges linked to a charitable body that he founded, saying there were insufficient grounds to pursue the case further.
Umno, which led the country for six decades, in 2022 joined Anwar’s rag-tag coalition of political friends and foes bound together at the behest of then king Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah.

On Friday, Ahmad Zahid dismissed claims that he had left Najib to his fate.
“There has been talk that the decision to join the coalition government was for Zahid to save himself. That is the accusation,” the deputy prime minister said in his policy speech at Umno’s general assembly.
“There are claims that Zahid had sidelined his friend Najib … Umno has never wavered in its position to stand with Datuk Seri Najib,” he said, using Najib’s honorific.
Pro-Najib factions in Umno have urged the party leadership to leave the government and revisit its pact with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, potentially creating a formidable coalition representing the country’s nearly 20 million Malay Muslims.
Najib, 72, is currently serving a six-year reduced sentence after receiving partial royal clemency for stealing 42 million ringgit (US$10.3 million) from SRC International, a former unit of 1MDB.
But he now faces an additional 15-year jail term and 11.4 billion ringgit fine after the High Court convicted him of 25 counts of money laundering and abuse of power linked to the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund on December 26.


Najib established the fund, which saw billions plundered from Malaysian taxpayers.
Ahmad Zahid said Umno’s leadership was aware of the grass-roots disappointment but urged for patience as the party appealed to current king Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar to allow Najib “to return to his family and be with us all”.
He reaffirmed the party’s commitment to stay with Anwar’s administration for the remainder of his term – which ends in two years – but cautioned coalition partners against crossing the party’s red lines.
Umno and erstwhile rival Democratic Action Party (DAP), a member of Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan alliance, have butted heads in recent weeks after leaders of the Chinese-dominated party celebrated the court’s rulings against Najib.
Though it has 26 parliamentary seats to the DAP’s 40, Umno serves as an important bridge for Anwar’s outreach to the country’s Malay-Muslim majority.
“We will not take this sitting down. Political cooperation must be built on trust, integrity and respect,” Ahmad Zahid said.


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Malaysia’s Umno chief denies he ‘sidelined’ Najib to secure his own legal freedom

Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reacts after being acquitted of corruption on September 4, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (centre) leaves the court after his verdict in the 1MDB trial on December 26. Photo: AFP

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Supporters of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak gather outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya on December 26, ahead of a High Court verdict in his 1MDB-linked corruption and money laundering case. Photo: Reuters

Najib Razak (left) speaks with his lawyers at the Federal Court in Putrajaya in August 2022. Photo: Reuters

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) and his deputy Ahmad Zahid Hamidi appear together after state election results in Kuala Lumpur on August 12, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak escorted by prison officers on his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur High Court Complex on Monday. Photo: AP

A social media post by the Democratic Action Party’s Publicity Secretary Yeo Bee Yin over ex-prime minister Najib Razak’s defeat in a court case has rankled members of Umno. Photo: Twitter

Supporters of Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak gather outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court Complex on Monday. Photo: AP

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks during a briefing with reporters in Putrajaya last week. Anwar has called for calm over the court’s ruling against ex-leader Najib Razak’s house arrest application. Photo: EPA

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A supporter of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak wears a t-shirt displaying Razak’s face at the Federal Court in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in August. Photo: EPA

Mohd Nizar Najib, the eldest son of former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, speaking about his father’s failed application to have his imprisonment commuted to house arrest. Photo: Facebook/Nizar Najib NN11

Nooryana Najwa, daughter of Malaysia’s jailed ex-prime minister Najib Razak, leaves the federal court in Putrajaya on March 31, 2023, after Malaysia’s top court rejected Najib’s bid to overturn his 12-year jail sentence for corruption. Photo: AFP

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Malaysian army troops march in formation for National Day celebrations.  Photo: AP

Former Malaysian army chief General Muhammad Hafizuddeain Jantan has been arrested in connection with the corruption investigation. Photo: AFP

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission building in Putrajaya. Company directors are arrested when they turn up for questioning over procurement allegations. Photo: EPA

With 1MDB verdict due, will Malaysia’s Najib have to ‘prepare for the worst’?

Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak attends the verdict of his house arrest bid at Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in Malaysia on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Lawyers push a trolley with boxes of court documents of jailed former prime minister Najib Razak during a court hearing at the Kuala Lumpur High Court in Malaysia on Monday. Photo: AFP

A Malaysian woman walks past a billboard with the 1MDB logo in Kuala Lumpur in September 2015. Malaysia’s taxpayers lost billions of dollars to the 1MDB scandal. Photo: AFP

Najib’s supporters gather outside the Kuala Lumpur High Court Complex on Monday. The High Court earlier this week rejected Najib’s bid to serve the remainder of his sentence in another case under house arrest. Photo: AP

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Ahmad Zahid, who has been cleared of corruption charges, says the party has ‘never wavered’ from its position of supporting its ex-leader


Ahmad Zahid, who has been cleared of corruption charges, says the party has ‘never wavered’ from its position of supporting its ex-leader.


Malaysia’s Umno chief denies he ‘sidelined’ Najib to secure his own legal freedom

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Ahmad Zahid, who has been cleared of corruption charges, says the party has ‘never wavered’ from its position of supporting its ex-leader

Ahmad Zahid, who has been cleared of corruption charges, says the party has ‘never wavered’ from its position of supporting its ex-leader