LEADERS loyal to Umno will be given priority to contest in the next elections, said Najib Razak.

“As far as Umno is concerned, we will give priority to those who are loyal to the party.

“However, what happens in the elections remains to be seen,” said the former Umno president on the sidelines of the 2020 Umno general assembly in PWTC today.

When pressed on whether Umno will take action against the leaders or elected representatives seen to be working with its enemies, Najib said there was a consensus among the grassroots that such leaders should be dropped.

“The feeling on the ground is that the party has to remain intact and the best way to do that is to choose people who are loyal to the party,” said Najib after dropping in at the Wanita and Pemuda meetings today.

Najib was responding to questions on whether Umno will drop elected representatives who are deemed to be working against the party.

Several leaders, such as long-time Perlis chief and Arau MP Shahidan Kassim and Federal Territories Minister and Ketereh MP Annuar Musa, have voiced their unhappiness with the party’s decision to stop working with Bersatu in the next general election.

Using the reason to preserve “Malay unity”, Annuar said Umno must continue negotiating with Perikatan Nasional instead of dropping them.

At the Pemuda opening today, chief Dr Aysraf Wajdi Dusuki also urged the Umno leadership to drop the “hypocrites” in their party in the next election. – March 27, 2021.