PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth will hold a special convention to determine whether the party should sever its ties with coalition partner Pakatan Harapan.
In a TikTok video on Sunday (Dec 28), Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh said the convention aims to gather grassroots opinions on the party’s continued support for the unity government.
According to Akmal, the decision comes after Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin refused to apologise for a post celebrating the Kuala Lumpur High Court's rejection of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house arrest bid.
“I call on Malays who cherish Umno’s struggle to turn out (for the convention) in large numbers.
“Let us express what is in our hearts at this convention so that what we have to say can be brought to the Umno Supreme Council and submitted to the president (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi),” he said in the two-minute 16-second video.
The convention – titled ‘Hala Tuju Umno, Sama Ada Kekal Atau Keluar Dari Kerajaan’ (Umno’s Direction: Stay or Leave the Government?) – will take place at 3pm on Saturday (Jan 3) at Dewan Tun Ismail, World Trade Centre, Kuala Lumpur.
Akmal also encouraged leaders to attend and listen to grassroots sentiments.
Relations between Umno and coalition partner DAP have been strained since Yeo made a celebratory post on Facebook following the Kuala Lumpur High Court's rejection of Najib's bid for house arrest on Monday (Dec 22).
The post triggered backlash from several Umno leaders, who condemned the remarks as insensitive, sarcastic and disrespectful.
On Saturday (Dec 27), the Umno’s Puchong division announced that it had severed all political cooperation with Puchong Pakatan Harapan after Yeo failed to issue an apology within the given 24-hour period.
