OUSTED prime minister Najib Razak said Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin should have spoken to him privately if he had disagreed with Najib’s actions.

I would have listened to his criticism, said the former Umno president, who stepped down as as head of the party and Barisan Nasional after the coalition failed to retain Putrajaya in GE14.

Najib said while open criticism against the party leadership was a violation of party rules, he would accept criticism if it was given in private.

“If you come and say, ‘Sir, I disagree with you. I think you should do it this way.’ That is not against party discipline,” he was quoted as saying in an interview with Malay Mail

He did not mention Mukhriz Mahathir and Muhyiddin Yassin, who had criticised him openly over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and who were subsequently sacked from the party. Najib also sacked Muhyiddin who was deputy prime minister.

He said Khairy, however could have gone to him as he had “always practised an open style”.

“He didn’t do that. I mean, he admitted that he didn’t do that,” Najib said.

Khairy in a recent interview with Channel News Asia said it was a mistake not to have spoken up with Najib about the latter’s alleged corruption.

Khairy and Umno Youth were among the first in the party to call for Najib to step down immediately after BN failed to form the government. The coalition won only 79 out of 222 seats in Parliament.

“Khairy is free to come and see me and say: ‘Look sir. I think you are not on the right track, or there is some problem, you know, which were not resolved in a proper way.’

“I can then decide whether to accept or not to accept,” said Najib, who has held on to his Pekan federal seat. – May 19, 2018.