FORMER UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said any negotiations to form a new government should not involve Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
In a tweet, Khairy said Zahid “no longer has the moral legitimacy” as UMNO president and must “step down immediately”.
“[Zahid] may be President in name, but he has no moral authority left to decide on behalf of UMNO,” the former Rembau MP said.
Khairy had repeated his call for Zahid to step down following the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s worst showing in history during the 15th General Election (GE15).
On Sunday (Nov 20), Khairy – in a Twitter post – said Zahid must step down from both the UMNO presidency and BN chairmanship, adding that this must happen now.
He also said that Zahid, as the commander-in-chief of BN, must have the dignity to accept the responsibility for BN’s failure.
“Deal with it”
Netizens were, however, quick to point out to the former health minister that he is no longer an MP and that the matter “no longer concerns [him]”.
“Enough already, KJ. This is a matter for BN MPs and it doesn’t concern you anymore. Resolve your issues during UMNO elections,” advised user @pemikirmsia.
Meanwhile, user @Jeff Carlito pointed out: “Who are you to say this, KJ? You are not even an MP right now. You have lost your seat. Be thankful that you did not lose your deposit.
“Zahid won in his constituency and is still an MP as well as the standing president of BN. So please take your rant somewhere else.”
“He is [the] president and [an] MP, you’re not. When you like a decision, you support it, and when you don’t like it, you whack it. Just join Bersatu if you you’re not going to be loyal to the President,” said user @ariff_kl.
Meanwhile, user @afiqazni said, “You lost, so you should keep quiet. It seems that you are more unqualified. You don’t have a parliamentary seat, nor do you have a position [in the government]. That’s why you’re busy talking about morals. Are you aware that the [UMNO] president is still Zahid Hamidi? You’re shameless.”
“You guys elected him (Zahid) for President. Deal with it,” user @Aerodynamic41 shrugged.
“Moral legitimacy? Did you give that a thought when you formed that backdoor government two years ago? Zahid was selected fairly as the president and have all the necessary legitimacy as the president,” user @justalhafiz pointed out.
Khairy lost in a seven-cornered fight in Sungai Buloh after a keenly-contested battle which saw Pakatan Harapan’s R. Ramanan edging past the finishing line in a neck-to-neck battle.
Khairy managed to poll 48, 250 votes compared to Ramanan’s 50,943. – Nov 22, 2022
