KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has claimed that the decision to retract Umno's support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was made collectively by the party Supreme Council for the sake of the people and the country.
Zahid also dismissed claims that he had made the decision on his own, without getting a majority support from the Supreme Council.
"The Umno Supreme Council made the decision by taking the people and nation's interests into consideration.
"This is the beauty of Umno, a sacred party that champions issues on religion, race and the nation. It is a 75-year-old democratic party.
"Everything decided was made in accordance with the party's constitution, (and made in accordance to) discussions and wisdom," he said in a statement today.
In a late-night online press conference held after the Umno Supreme Council meeting, Zahid said the party concluded that the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, helmed by Muhyiddin, has failed in its handling of the Covid-19 crisis and failed to fulfil the people's aspirations.
Zahid had said this after the four-hour Supreme Council meeting, which was held in a hybrid method. Some leaders were present at the Umno headquarters in the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre, while others attended the meeting virtually.
Umno made this resolution less than 12 hours after Muhyiddin promoted two Umno senior leaders - Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to the post of deputy prime minister and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to Senior Foreign Affairs Minister.
At the same time, Zahid said Umno was also urging Muhyiddin to step down and make way for a new prime minister.
However, Umno's Ketereh member of parliament Tan Sri Annuar Musa, earlier today claimed that he was told by several Supreme Council Members that Zahid's statement last night did not reflect the decision made during the meeting.
Nevertheless, Zahid said Umno's decision shows that the party was able to compromise when it involved the interest of the people and the nation.
"This proves that Umno listens to the voices of the party grassroots by fulfilling the mandate given during the 2020 Umno General Assembly."