THE decision to expel Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil was made by the council itself, party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said. 

He said the decision was made without the need to go through the party disciplinary committee.

“The disciplinary committee would bring it to the supreme council, and the supreme council would decide. What is decided by the supreme council is final,” he said in response to Isham’s claims that the sacking was decided by Zahid without his (Isham) case being given a fair hearing by the disciplinary committee.

Asked whether the decision serves as a warning to those who criticise Umno and the party president, Zahid said criticising the president was not a consideration when arriving at the decision.

“However, when you insult your party and belittle Umno despite being a member, it means the actions will be dealt with by the supreme council so that there are no ‘tikus membaiki labu’ moves within Umno itself,” he said, citing the Malay idiom which refers to an ignorant person trying to resolve a problem only to worsen the situation further. 

He added that if such members continued to exist in Umno, the party would face further damage within.

Meanwhile, commenting on PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad’s statement that Umno should be grateful to Bersatu for accepting the party as part of the previous government, Zahid said PAS, by right, should be the one thanking Umno. 

“Datuk Seri Idris does not know what Umno has done for PAS. By right he should be the one to be thankful as he was also part of the opposition before.

“At that time, the government was formed due to Umno’s contribution, as PAS then had only 18 seats while Umno and BN (Barisan Nasional) had 68 seats overall… so it is them (PAS) who should be thanking Umno,” he said. – Bernama, December 9, 2023.