Report: Najib refused to resign as Umno president, Nur Jazlan claims

An Umno supreme council member has claimed that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had refused to resign as Umno president following the party’s defeat in the May 9 polls – until he was forced to do so.

Nur Jazlan Mohamed, who is also the former deputy home minister, reportedly told online portal Free Malaysia Today that a majority of Umno members wanted Najib to resign voluntarily to ensure that the party “does not split.”

“Even after we lost the election, he (Najib) refused to immediately resign as the party president until he was forced to do so on May 12,” claimed Nur Jazlan as quoted by FMT.

Nur Jazlan, who lost the Pulai seat to Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub in GE14, also noted that the move to voluntarily resign as Umno president was previously taken by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Abdullah had in 2008 said he would step down in March 2009 and pave the way for his chosen successor to take control of Umno, after the 12th general election saw the then-Pakatan Rakyat pact take control of five states for the first time, as well as 82 parliamentary seats.

When asked if there were calls for Najib to resign even before the May 9 polls, Nur Jazlan reportedly said: “How do you know we did not? But he did not want to listen.”

He also linked BN’s shocking defeat at the polls to Najib’s failure to address allegations of corruption against him and issues related to 1MDB.

Nur Jazlan said this in response to Najib’s remark that BN leaders should have spoken upearlier if they thought there was a problem with his leadership.

Najib’s remark, meanwhile, was made in response to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin who reportedly suggested that the party had made a terrible mistake, as there was no one who wanted to acknowledge problems within the party.

In announcing his resignation, Najib said his decision was made after taking into account BN's heavy losses and the current "difficult" political situation. -Mkini