Umno men to push for Najib's ouster via party channels

GKCM, a group of disaffected Umno branch leaders, today confirmed that they are lobbying for a motion asking party president Najib Abdul Razak to step down and for delayed party polls to be expedited.

Chairperson Kamarulzaman Habibur Rahman said that this was in response to Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Mansor asking them to table such a motion via party channels if they have lost confidence in Najib's leadership.

"Yes, this (lobbying for the motion) is in our plans. This is so that all branches nationwide can make their stand on the matter known.

“We have been challenged by Tengku Adnan when he said that if we have lost confidence in the president, the best way is for us to table a motion," he told Malaysiakini.

Kamarulzaman, who is Taman KKK Umno branch head, said he assumed the motion would be opposed at the division level but added he was confident Umno rank-and-file would back it.

"We know that we will be blocked by the division leaders who will pressure the branch leaders to make certain that our efforts will not succeed.

"But we are confident that members can think for themselves and their views will be brought to the division level as this is the only channel we have," he said.

Kamarulzaman explained he had not done anything to incite members as they already viewed seriously concerns about Najib's leadership which were brought up by various quarters.

"We never incited the branches to rise up and do this.

"Some branches tabled the motion asking for the president to step down but the problem is that it never got past the division stage. But we will make sure that it will go through this time," he vowed.

Fear of defeat

Najib is facing discontent in his own party after having been plagued by scandals and accusations of abuse of power that have seen calls for him to step down from both within and without the party.

Already, 13 branches from the Teluk Kemang Umno division in Negeri Sembilan have collectively called for his resignation as Umno president.

GKCM has said that they do not intend to punish Najib for the ills that have befallen the country but he should step down now to avoid bringing defeat upon Umno in the next general election.

Several branch leaders have had disciplinary action taken against them as Najib and his backers moved to purge dissenting voices, joining cabinet members and a menteri besar who have been removed for criticising the prime minister. -Mkini