PETALING JAYA, Nov 26 – Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was barred from speaking in next month’s Umno General Assembly. He said he will not keep quiet by anyone and vowed to continue speaking for what was right even though he will not be delivering the opening speech at the party’s Wanita, Youth and Puteri general assemblies next month.
Muhyiddin said for the past six years as deputy president, he have given speeches diligently to the Wanita, Youth and Puteri delegates who come from all over the country. In a post on his official Facebook account on Wednesday, he questioned the decision to stop the practice of having the Umno deputy president speak at the assemblies of the Youth, Wanita and Puteri wings that was announced by Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak last night.
Muhyiddin, who is also former deputy prime minister, said he wondered if this decision was made because certain parties were fearful about what he might say in front of the youth during the assembly. He said while he respected the decision of the supreme council, he also want to remind them that in a free and independent nation.
“Nobody can silence me, I will continue talking about my rights. In the meantime, my struggle in Umno is not to defend on any individual but to uphold the religion, race and the country that I love,” he said on his official Facebook account post which posted on Wednesday.
Party president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is also the prime minister, announced after the Umno Supreme Council meeting on Tuesday that the party would stop its tradition of having its deputy president officiate its Youth, Wanita, and Puteri wing assemblies during annual general meeting next month, in order to create a “positive atmosphere”. The chiefs of the respective wings will officiate their meetings, said Najib.
According to Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, the decision to discontinue the party deputy president’s speeches at the wing assemblies, however, has been described as a request by the heads of the wings themselves so that they could open their own assemblies.
