Malaysia’s Umno chief denies he ‘sidelined’ Najib to secure his own legal freedom
Ahmad Zahid, who has been cleared of corruption charges, says the party has ‘never wavered’ from its position of supporting its ex-leader
In contrast, the attorney general last week cleared Ahmad Zahid of corruption charges linked to a charitable body that he founded, saying there were insufficient grounds to pursue the case further.
Umno, which led the country for six decades, in 2022 joined Anwar’s rag-tag coalition of political friends and foes bound together at the behest of then king Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah.
On Friday, Ahmad Zahid dismissed claims that he had left Najib to his fate.
“There has been talk that the decision to join the coalition government was for Zahid to save himself. That is the accusation,” the deputy prime minister said in his policy speech at Umno’s general assembly.