KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) has revealed that an attempt to get Umno deregistered by declaring the party as declared illegal was foiled.
The Deputy Prime Minister, without disclosing any names, said that the newly-appointed Home Minister had found a letter on his table asking him to deregister Umno.
"Someone saved Umno from being banned.
"Attempts to ban Umno had been 'broken' by someone," he said after attending the Malaysia Chinese Women Entrepreneurs Association (MCWEA) 10th anniversary celebrations in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday (Dec 11) night.
The Barisan Nasional chairman said this in response to Pahang Perikatan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah' statement that the objective of establishing Bersatu to replace Umno had been achieved, based on GE15 results.
"It is clear that in GE15, this goal is actually far from their target.
"We know that their goal is much more than that. We hope that this will create awareness among the people, especially grassroots members, that their (Perikatan) goals must be rejected by Umno members as a whole.
"When someone became Home Minister for the first time, there was a letter on his desk to make Umno illegal.
"We have to thank that someone who was able to disregard that request," he said.
Anwar announced his Cabinet comprising 28 ministers on Dec 2, and named Saifuddin Nasution Ismail as Home Minister.
