Umno secretary-general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad has denied there was a high-level plot to stop former premier and party president Dr Mahathir Mohamad from attending the Umno assembly last year as an elected delegate.

He dismissed such accusations as "rubbish".

"This is a rubbish report! It never cross our mind to stop a former prime minister (from attending our meet) - gila (insane)," he told reporters when met on the sidelines of the Umno general assembly in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Denying there was such a plot, Radzi - who is also home minister - said it has been a tradition for the biggest ruling party to invite its former leaders to the general assembly.

He said that the party had also invited Mahathir to attend this year's assembly.

"As a responsible party which is 61 years old and has been in power for so long, we always follow the Umno tradition to invite our former leaders," he explained.

"I have personally wrote to him (Mahathir) and he replied that he can't make it because he is not healthy, not strong," he said, adding that the media should not focus on such a trivial issue.

"We have got a lot of things to discuss in this assembly. You heard the PM's (Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) speech, these are the things that should be discussed - benda-benda remeh-temeh ini usahlah (no need to discuss this trivial issue)," said Radzi.

Mahathir, who is currently recovering from his second heart operation, had embarrassed party leaders with his attempt last year to be elected as one of Umno delegates to the party meet.

While it is usual for former party leaders to attend the assembly as guests, Mahathir had wanted to go as an official delegate, which would possibly give him the right to speak at the function.

Minutes expunged

Radzi was asked by journalists to respond on a police report lodged by an Umno Johor division member Johari Ismail on Tuesday alleging the party had sought to bar Mahathir from attending last year's annual meet as a delegate of his Kubang Pasu division.

Johari (left) claimed in his report that the Umno supreme council - the party's highest decision-making body - had on Sept 28, 2006, expunged three pages of the minutes of its previous meeting which recorded a discussion on ways to stop the former prime minister from being an elected delegate.

He said this was done on orders from Abdullah, Mahathir's handpicked successor.

Johari, who has previously served as current Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman's press secretary, claimed that the minutes - which had contained detailed instructions to bar Mahathir from the assembly - were expunged on Abdullah's orders.

Although supreme council member Dr Rais Yatim had at the September meeting noted that the act of expunging any information from meeting minutes was a breach of regulations, Abdullah was adamant that it be done, claimed Johari in his report.

At the time of the alleged plot, Mahathir was highly critical of Abdullah's leadership, claiming that his handpicked successor was mismanaging the economy and was corrupt.

Mahathir not elected

Mahathir however failed in his bid to be elected as one of the Kubang Pasu division's seven delegates to attend the November Umno general assembly last year.

Despite having led the division for more than 30 years, Mahathir came out ninth among the 15 candidates. His son, Mukhriz, took the fifth spot.

Mahathir claimed that money politics was the major reason for his defeat.

Subsequently, five Umno members from the Kubang Pasu division had on Sept 29 last year filed complaints with the party's disciplinary board.

The party leadership has denied any wrongdoings.


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Anti-Mahathir plot: Police report against Umno