Loyalty is the price to pay in politics, says Zahid

There is always a price that one must pay to survive in politics, surmised Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, in relation to former deputy premier Muhyiddin Yassin and ex-Kedah menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir’s expulsions from Umno.

“In this case, loyalty is the highest price that must be paid. We used to be taught to have total loyalty,” he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today, when asked to comment on the duo’s expulsion from Umno.

“And that has been done by the leadership of (Prime Minister) Najib Abdul Razak. Although all kinds of interpretation can be made, priority must be given to uniting the party leadership.”

Zahid had earlier gone down memory lane, citing how he himself had paid ‘in cash’ for such a thing, once.

Although he did not mention names, many still remember how close he was with then former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

After Anwar’s fall from grace, Zahid was subsequently arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) when former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad was in power.

Supreme council decision final

Meanwhile, admitting that some may find it difficult to fully accept the Umno supreme council’s decision, Zahid however said that the decision on the matter was final.

“So the decision must be accepted with an open heart,” he said.

The deputy premier also denied that Umno will hold its party elections in the near future, stressing instead that unity in the party must be re-established.

“Although this may be hard at the initial stages, Umno, however, has gone through various eras, therefore challenges will always come our way.

“But we must look for solutions so that Umno will continue to be relevant not only to its members but to the rakyat as well,” he said.

The Umno supreme council, yesterday, unanimously decided to sack both Muhyiddin and Mukhriz.

Vice-president Mohd Shafie Apdal, on the other hand, was suspended.

Najib had explained that the decision was made after both Muhyiddin and Mukhriz were on the same stage together with the opposition.

Although the trio did not campaign actively for the opposition in the twin polls, Muhyiddin and Mukhriz are actively involved in the Save Malaysia campaign spearheaded by Mahathir.

Ironically Najib himself has also been appearing on stage with several leaders of opposition party PAS in recent events. - Mkini