All lies, says Umno sec-gen on claims Zahid is party's PM pick for GE15

KUALA LUMPUR: A statement circulating that Umno has nominated Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as its prime minister candidate for the 15th General Election (GE15) is fake, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

The Umno secretary-general's debunking of the claim was made in response to a statement, purportedly issued by him, which went viral over the weekend.

"In this world, there are nasty and unwise groups of people whose work is solely to spread lies," he said on Twitter late Saturday (Sept 24) night.

“It’s easy to find out whether or not the statement was from me.

"Check all my social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

“If it’s not there, it’s fake," he said.

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He also uploaded images of the statement, which started making the rounds on Friday (Sept 23) after Ahmad Zahid was freed of 40 graft charges over the foreign visa system (VLN) when the Shah Alam High Court found that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.

The statement claimed that Umno’s supreme council would meet on Sept 30 to discuss a proposal to appoint Ahmad Zahid as Barisan Nasional’s candidate for prime minister in GE15.

Ahmad Zahid is still facing 47 charges involving 12 counts of criminal breach of trust in relation to RM31mil of charity foundation Yayasan Akalbudi’s funds, 27 money laundering charges, and eight counts of graft over RM21.25mil in alleged bribes.

Umno had previously endorsed its vice president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob as its prime ministerial candidate for GE15.

Ismail Sabri was appointed the nation's ninth Prime Minister in August last year, replacing Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who relinquished the post after pressure from Umno and other parties.

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Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad also said on Saturday he is willing to take the country's reins for a third time if there are strong calls for him to do so and no other suitable candidates are available.

Dr Mahathir, who is chairman of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, recently formed the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) movement which also includes Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman), Berjasa and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra).

Mudah sahaja utk mengetahui benar atau tidak jika ada kenyataan drpd saya - check semua saluran media sosial saya iaitu twitter, fb, instagram, tiktok.

Jika tiada, maka ianya palsu, fake. Dlm dunia ini mmg ada sekumpulan manusia jahat & bodoh yg kerjanya hanya membuat fitnah. https://t.co/N8pRYSvDCj">pic.twitter.com/N8pRYSvDCja> — Ahmad b Maslan (@ahmadmaslan) https://twitter.com/ahmadmaslan/status/1573655754422497281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2022