Some members at the branch level, which is the lowest in the party hierarchy, have tried putting forth motions to reinstate party elections that had been scheduled next year but which had been postponed.
If the motions are accepted, this would allow the president to be challenged and defeated, before Umno goes to the general election in 2018.
Others have tabled motions urging stern action against Najib, hoping that the initiatives would be carried to the party’s main assembly in Kuala Lumpur at the end of the year.
However, Najib’s hold on the party’s 199 division chiefs - middle tier politicians responsible for managing the Umno grassroots – means many of these moves get blocked before they become actual threats.
In the Kota Raja division for instance, a member put forth a motion that would get the party’s elections reinstated next year, said deputy division chief Mohd Hamidi Abu Bakar.
Hamidi agreed with the proposal, but since the division’s top officials did not call for a vote so that it could either be adopted or rejected, the motion was left hanging.
For Hamidi, two years is enough for the grassroots to evaluate party leaders.
"To me, the motion is good, there has been enough time for the grassroots to evaluate division chiefs and top leaders," he told The Malaysian Insider.
In June, Najib announced that party elections scheduled for next year would be deferred by 18 months.
The announcement was made before Najib dropped party deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin from the Cabinet, a
Similar motions were brought at divisional meetings in Batu Sapi, Sabah and Tenggara, Johor.
Jafar Mustapha, the Batu Sapi Umno division's branch chief, said the motion to reconvene the elections was brought at the divisional meeting last weekend.
"The election of Umno Supreme Council members and division leaders need to take place next year to evaluate how strong the trust of grassroots and delegates nationwide is of their leaders," Jafar told The Malaysian Insider.
He said the decision to postpone party elections by 18 months is no longer relevant in light of the current political situation in the party.
He said the motion was brought from the branch to the division meeting but no final decision has been made on whether it would be taken to the general assembly.
"I am the head of a branch so it is easy to bring forth a motion to chastise our leaders, but the divisional leaders might not approve it," he said.
In Tenggara, a similar motion was brought to the division meeting but it was rejected on technical grounds, said the division's youth committee member, Asrul Esreen Mohd Salleh.
Censure not in party constitution
Moves to censure the president are being mounted as a reaction to Najib's Cabinet reshuffle, his botched handling of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) financial scandal as well the controversy over how RM2.6 billion went to his personal bank accounts.
In the Kluang division meeting last week, the Taman Datuk Amar Diraja branch tabled a motion for the party to “act aggressively against Najib” if the president did not resolve the issues.
Johor Umno committee secretary Mad Jais Sarday believed that the grassroots should be allowed to voice their views no matter how strident they sound.
But at the same time, he said a motion of no confidence would only be detrimental to the party.
"We cannot stop members from voicing their views... If there are any members who want to voice out their views, I encourage them to do it through the assembly," he said.
"We will not do it... we want to solve the problem, if the no-confidence vote is done, it will weaken the party," added the Mahkota assemblyman who is state executive councillor for education, information, cooperatives and entreprenuer development.
Supreme Council member Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, however, argued that the party’s constitution did not allow motions of no confidence against the president.
"(We) cannot simply table a no confidence vote at the Umno general assembly. The party constitution does not allow it. If it does, it would have happened a long time ago.”
For instance, when members wanted to challenge former president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, they did it through the elections rather than through a no-confidence motion.
"If (we) want to change, it has to be done through elections, that's why we decided to postpone the elections, to prevent this from happening," said the Seri Gading MP.
- TMI
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