UMNO president Najib Razak is due to step down as party chief following Barisan Nasional’s crushing defeat in GE14.

He is chairing a party Supreme Council meeting where he will inform them of his decision, said sources.

His deputy, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had said “he would not be staying on” when asked earlier.

Najib did not use the main entrance when he arrived at the Umno headquarters at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur and went straight to the meeting from a separate entrance from the car park.

At the same time, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin was due to give a press conference following a meeting of the Youth exco, which has been calling for Najib to step down as party president since yesterday.

The press were earlier waiting for Khairy’s announcement before they were told that Umno Youth would speak outside Najib’s private residence in Bukit Tunku. But upon arriving there, the press conference venue was moved back to PWTC. – May 12, 2018.