AN UMNO leader has slammed his former party colleague Tan Sri Noh Omar for using ex-premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak as an excuse to join Bersatu.

Calling Noh’s reason “low class”, Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi questioned the former Selangor UMNO chairman’s move, adding that Noh had never been a Najib loyalist.

“What can he do to defend Najib now that he’s in Bersatu? In fact, Bersatu and (its president) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin wanted Najib to remain incarcerated, the longer the better,” the Rengit assemblyman said in a Facebook post on Friday (July 5).

“The real reason why Noh joined Bersatu is because he wanted to contest the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat. He’s confident that the seat will be vacated.”

On Thursday (July 4), Malay-language portal Sinar Harian reported Noh as saying that he has joined Bersatu with immediate effect.

The former six-term Tanjong Karang MP said the decision was made due to disappointment over the fate of the former prime minister who had been unsuccessful in his application to the High Court over the addendum order on his house arrest.

On Wednesday, the High Court had dismissed Najib’s application for leave to commence judicial review over his claims of a royal addendum order by the former Yang di-Pertuan Agong that would allow him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence under house arrest.

Noh said the court’s decision prompted him to change his mind and become a Bersatu member, adding that he had already received his membership certificate.

He also revealed that he had met Najib several times in court, during which the former premier advised him to be patient and not to join any political party after being sacked from UMNO, and that he had followed the ex-Pekan MP’s advice out of respect for him.

The current MP for Tanjong Karang, Datuk Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi, is one of six former Bersatu MPs whose memberships were terminated after they declared support for the unity government.

They contend that they were sacked and did not leave the party, and therefore did not violate the anti-hopping law.

Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul is expected to announce his decision on whether their seats are vacated next week. - July 5, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/low-class-excuse-puad-chides-ex-colleague-for-using-najibs-name-to-join-bersatu/