Zaid: I wont quit Umno
Beh Lih YiPublished: Jan 15, 2007 6:35 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Outspoken Kota Baru MP Zaid Ibrahim - who has lost his Umno division chief's post at the end of a 18-month suspension - said he is not considering quitting the party despite his disappointment.
The outspoken politician declares that his heart is still with Umno despite its decision not to reinstate him as division chief.
Outspoken Kota Baru MP Zaid Ibrahim - who has lost his Umno division chief's post at the end of a 18-month suspension - said he is not considering quitting the party despite his disappointment.
"Umno is the only party that I know and am associated with. It is always my hope that Umno will change and I will stay in the party to see through these changes," he told malaysiakini when contacted this afternoon.
Zaid, who joined Umno in 1985, said he was not bitter about the entire episode.
"I have gone through life, and disappointment happens from time to time," he said.
The party recently told Zaid in a letter that he would not be reinstated as the Kota Baru Umno division chief, after serving out his suspension for criticising the party's disciplinary board. The period ended on Dec 23.
Working secretary Husainy Hashim said in the letter that the supreme council had made a decision last year that the division deputy chief Mohd Fatmi Che Salleh would assume the post of acting division head during Zaid's absence until the next divisional election.
Husainy's letter was in response to a letter from Zaid seeking reinstatement.
"I am just disappointed with this (development). I was elected division chief and I won the Kota Baru parliamentary seat in 2004 from the opposition. I thought I had done a good job but maybe I am not good enough," said Zaid, who sounded dejected.
Asked if the decision was made in accordance with the party constitution, he said: "The constitution is not important because the supreme council is the highest decision-making body. Nothing is higher than that."
Nevertheless, he pointed out that he would have been reinstated as "common practice".
Need for support
Zaid said he needed the post in order to discharge his duties smoothly as an elected representative - while under suspension, he could not attend any party programme or visits by party leaders.
"The party machinery is important," he pointed out.
He has reportedly expressed concern that the lack of support from the party machinery might affect his chances of defending the Kota Baru parliamentary seat in the next general election.
Asked whether the opposition could benefit from this, Zaid said he did not want to be drawn into speculation.
Zaid is one of the most outspoken backbenchers in Parliament and has been portrayed as a 'reformist' in Umno circles.
In the past, he had described the supreme council as an "exclusive club" and called for reform in Umno to separate the contest for party positions and the selection process for the prime minister.
Last September, he said in a parliamentary speech that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has failed to initiate reforms despite making numerous pledges. He also called for restoration of judiciary powers and transparency.
More recently, he urged Barisan Nasional component parties to merge into a single entity because "the coalition parties have their own agenda in dealing with issues".
In 2004, he was dropped from the Kelantan Umno line-up as deputy chief and replaced by Dr Awang Adek Hussin, the deputy finance minister who secured a place in the Umno supreme council.
Zaid was found guilty of money politics by the disciplinary board in April 2005 but escaped a suspension and was let off with a warning.
However, he was slapped with a 18-month suspension after saying he would not appeal because he had no confidence in the board - he criticised it for not having strong evidence of his alleged involvement in money politics.
"Umno is the only party that I know and am associated with. It is always my hope that Umno will change and I will stay in the party to see through these changes," he told malaysiakini when contacted this afternoon.
Zaid, who joined Umno in 1985, said he was not bitter about the entire episode.
"I have gone through life, and disappointment happens from time to time," he said. The party recently told Zaid in a letter that he would not be reinstated as the Kota Baru Umno division chief, after serving out his suspension for criticising the party's disciplinary board. The period ended on Dec 23.
Working secretary Husainy Hashim said in the letter that the supreme council had made a decision last year that the division deputy chief Mohd Fatmi Che Salleh would assume the post of acting division head during Zaid's absence until the next divisional election.
Husainy's letter was in response to a letter from Zaid seeking reinstatement.
"I am just disappointed with this (development). I was elected division chief and I won the Kota Baru parliamentary seat in 2004 from the opposition. I thought I had done a good job but maybe I am not good enough," said Zaid, who sounded dejected.
Asked if the decision was made in accordance with the party constitution, he said: "The constitution is not important because the supreme council is the highest decision-making body. Nothing is higher than that."
Nevertheless, he pointed out that he would have been reinstated as "common practice".
Need for support
Zaid said he needed the post in order to discharge his duties smoothly as an elected representative - while under suspension, he could not attend any party programme or visits by party leaders.
"The party machinery is important," he pointed out.
He has reportedly expressed concern that the lack of support from the party machinery might affect his chances of defending the Kota Baru parliamentary seat in the next general election.
Asked whether the opposition could benefit from this, Zaid said he did not want to be drawn into speculation.
Zaid is one of the most outspoken backbenchers in Parliament and has been portrayed as a 'reformist' in Umno circles.
In the past, he had described the supreme council as an "exclusive club" and called for reform in Umno to separate the contest for party positions and the selection process for the prime minister.
Last September, he said in a parliamentary speech that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has failed to initiate reforms despite making numerous pledges. He also called for restoration of judiciary powers and transparency. More recently, he urged Barisan Nasional component parties to merge into a single entity because "the coalition parties have their own agenda in dealing with issues".
In 2004, he was dropped from the Kelantan Umno line-up as deputy chief and replaced by Dr Awang Adek Hussin, the deputy finance minister who secured a place in the Umno supreme council.
Zaid was found guilty of money politics by the disciplinary board in April 2005 but escaped a suspension and was let off with a warning.
However, he was slapped with a 18-month suspension after saying he would not appeal because he had no confidence in the board - he criticised it for not having strong evidence of his alleged involvement in money politics.
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