Changing the UMNO President must follow democratic process

Gopeng UMNO division chief Senator Datuk Hamzah Mohd Kassim said party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak had been given the mandate to lead UMNO in a democratic manner in the 2013 party election, involving about 146,000 members at the divisional level compared with the slightly more than 2,000 delegates previously.

The right to change the UMNO president should be given to the majority of UMNO members instead of following the wishes of a former leader, he said when debating the motion on the Presidential Policy Speech at the 2015 UMNO General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

"He (Najib) as the president is open in giving satisfaction to the party members to elect a leader, so don't ever mention that the president is suppressing party members," he said.

During his speech, Hamzah drew protests from a section of the delegates in the Dewan Merdeka when he raised the issue on the move by UMNO deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in giving a speech at an UMNO function at the Kelab Sultan Sulaiman last Monday.

UMNO permanent chairman Tan Sri Badruddin Amiruldin had to intervene to pacify the crowd when the Gopeng division head insisted on continuing his speech on the matter.

Muhyiddin had attended a program entitled "Majlis Bersama Timbalan Presiden UMNO" (An Event With the UMNO Deputy President) at Kelab Sultan Sulaiman in Kampung Baru, here on Dec 7, just before the 2015 UMNO General Assembly.

His action was considered as holding an assembly within an UMNO assembly by several UMNO leaders.