KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi attended tonight a discreet meeting hosted by party vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Media personnel who waited near Wisma Perwira at the Ministry of Defense here sighted several vehicles and outriders near the area.
Sources confirmed that the discussion is centred around Zahid’s proposal to pull Umno out of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government this week.
“The meeting is only attended by several high-ranking Umno officials to ask Zahid not to make ‘a rash decision’ regarding the future of the party,” said one source on the condition of anonymity.
Another source said that the decision to pull out of PN is ill-advised and not suitable as the country needed to fight the pandemic and its economical impact on the public.
“Members attending the meeting did not agree (with the decision to pull out of PN) and tried to reason with Zahid.
“(This) is not the right time despite Parliament convening soon. Priority must be Covid-19 (prevention),” said the source.
The meeting which started at 9pm, ended at 11.30pm, according to the source inside.
Among the leaders who attended is Umno secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Maslan.
This is a second meeting that gathered Umno MPs.
The first meeting was at a mansion in Jalan Bellamy Kuala Lumpur last Saturday but Zahid was not invited at the time.
Earlier today, sources said Zahid and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak met with several Umno supreme council members to gain support to pull out of PN.
However the proposal was rejected by those who attended the meet.
Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has since said there is an official Supreme Council meeting today.
The meeting today occurred after the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Parliament will convene on July 26 to July 29 and August 2.
Previously, Zahid had called for the government to heed the call of the King for Parliament to convene as soon as possible.
