Former Umno leaders return fire - Khairy and Noh say due process not followed in sacking decision

PETALING JAYA: Stating that due process was not followed in the decision by the Umno supreme council on Friday night, former Umno top names Khairy Jamaluddin and Tan Sri Noh Omar said it was unfair to punish them without giving them the reasons.

In a series of Instagram content, former Umno Youth chief and former Rembau MP Khairy confirmed that he was “summarily and unilaterally sacked from a party which he has been loyal to for 23 years”.

No holds barred: Khairy, Noh and Hishammuddin take to social media in a series of posts following Umno’s decision to have them sacked and suspended, respectively.

Accompanied by news articles, Khairy’s content had a throwback picture of him and former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who was suspended in Umno’s big purge.

“Chin up, Hisham. This is far from over,” stated Khairy on his Instagram content yesterday.

Immediately after the announcement of his sacking on Friday, Khairy tweeted, “Tonight, I was sacked by the party which I loved, to which I had given loyalty. Unbowed. Unbent. Unbroken.”

The former health minister also changed his Twitter bio to “Negri Sembilan Racing Bicycle Association president” as soon as the announcement was made.

Meanwhile, former Umno stalwart Noh said he would rather be booted out than be in cohorts with the party’s top leadership.

“The president and the current leadership may bury Umno and as far as I am concerned, it is better for me to be sacked as opposed to being suspended.

“Because to me, Umno currently, under the leadership of the president, will not adhere to the law or party constitution and they will do as they like to achieve their personal interests,’’ said Noh.

Appearing calm and collected, Noh conveyed his message through a video recording, which he tweeted a day after his sacking.

According to Noh, action was initiated against leaders who were brave enough to be vocal, as the party president did not like them to speak up.

Noh said he and the others who had faced action were merely giving their opinion in the best interest of Umno.

In the early part of the video, Noh said the Umno supreme council meeting on Friday night had created “extraordinary” history by suspending him for six years.

“How could this decision have been made when I had already received a show cause letter and was scheduled to face the disciplinary board on Monday?” he said.

Noh said he asked to be sacked when his suspension was announced because the decision to suspend him was already made prior to him going before the disciplinary board.

In an earlier tweet, Noh said he was unwilling to leave Umno but refused to work with leaders (who were) destroying the party.

“I spoke up, but at the end was punished without being given the chance to defend myself,’’ he added.