CRACKS are appearing in Umno Youth as a handful of the wing’s grassroots leaders are objecting to the move by the leadership to ask party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to go on leave until his 45 criminal charges are settled in court.

Sg Besar, Kinabatangan and Gopeng Youth division heads issued statements last night, hours after Umno Youth chief Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced the exco’s decision urging Zahid to take a break for presidential duties.

Sg Besar chief M. Imran Tamrin said he disagreed with the move as Zahid was innocent until proven guilty and urged the Youth leadership to reconsider its position.

“The investigations and charges against Umno leaders, including Zahid and Najib Razak, are politically motivated. Pakatan Harapan is not practising genuine rule of law and is conducting selective persecutions instead.

“As an opposition party, we should be defending our leaders,” Imran said.

KInabatangan chief Naim Moktar also disagreed, saying the charges against Zahid were aimed at weakening Umno’s leadership.

“Our leaders on the front-lines are the main targets and Umno Youth should be aggressively defending the leadership,” he said.

Gopeng Youth chief Mohd Firdaous Mohamad Anwar also made a similar call, asking the exco to rethink its decision and urging Umno Youth to play its role as the party’s “front-line defenders”.

Ordinary member Aemierulrizaki Rambli from Kuala Selangor said Youth members should be examples of “warriors” to young ones and rise to defend their leaders when they are oppressed.

“Umno Youth is the future of the party’s leadership but if this is the way Umno is, then it should bury itself because its leaders have no identity and no fighting spirit,” he said.

Their statements were issued on their personal social media platforms.

Only one Youth grassroots leader has differed so far and is supporting the exco’s decision.

Arau division chief Syed Atif Syed Abu Bakar said the exco’s decision was “professional” because it was distinguishing between Zahid the president, as an individual, and the office or institution of the party president.

“Asking a leader to go on leave doesn’t mean he is guilty. The call to go on leave should be seen as move to separate party from being receiving negative repercussion if the leader found guilty.

“If he is cleared by the court, he will return to the position.”

Syed Atif also said Zahid could have used the time in recent weeks to explain investigations and the corruption allegations against him to all levels of the party’s leadership but did not do so.

His explanations in the media were unconvincing, Syed Atif said, adding that Umno Youth in Perlis had no knowledge about donations from the charity foundation run by Zahid’s family, which purportedly donated funds to tahfiz schools and mosques in the state.

“It is not fair and not appropriate to make everyone use the same script that everyone should blindly support the leadership without a proper explanation first.

“The move by the Youth is professional and is done to protect Umno’s image. If we give blind support, and then there is proof about the alleged crimes or amassing of wealth, what will you say then?”

Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam last night fired the first salvo against Asyraf’s leadership of the Youth wing for failing to stand by Zahid. – October 26, 2018.