Sacking decision a hot topic of debate

PETALING JAYA: As the shock from the decision against Umno members continues to ripple within the party and outside, the dispute over how the action against them was implemented continues to be debated.

While the party’s information chief Datuk Isham Jalil said Umno’s constitution allowed the supreme council to decide on the sacking or suspension of members, former prime minister and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob insisted that the decision did not follow the principle of natural justice.

“No show cause letter was issued on what their offences were and they were not given the chance to respond,” he said.

In an Instagram story yesterday, former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said former information chief Shahril Hamdan, who was slapped with a six-year suspension from the party, should have been the next Umno youth chief.

“But he was suspended without due process. For nothing,” Khairy said in a selfie with Shahril.

Meanwhile, many Selangor Umno leaders did not want to discuss the sacking and suspensions, especially of their former leader Tan Sri Noh Omar.

They are afraid that they may get the axe as well if they defend Noh. Other leaders in Selangor, however, said they are looking at the “big picture of the betterment of Umno” rather than defending individuals.

Several political analysts including Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian and Prof Datuk Dr Ramlah Adam see the party’s decisions as cleaning up the party and to make sure that Umno can be strong again the next general election.