Ku Nan makes his moves in Putrajaya in bid to block Khairy
But first, the Putrajaya Umno chairman must address an immediate hurdle: his deputy Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz.
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The only MP that Putrajaya has known is now out to preserve his heritage by ensuring that a family member inherits the prized seat of the administrative capital, MalaysiaNow has learnt.
It is believed that Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, or Ku Nan, who is facing pressure to quit as the Putrajaya Umno chief following a corruption conviction, has been busy trying to block his deputy Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz from taking over the division.
Ultimately, the plan is to block former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin from contesting the federal seat.
It is a known fact that under Faisal, Putrajaya Umno will name Khairy as a candidate, not Ku Nan’s son Tengku Iqbal, whom he is said to be promoting.
MalaysiaNow has also learnt that Ku Nan recently invited about 50 Putrajaya Umno committee members and branch leaders to his home in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur.
Ultimately, the plan is to block former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin from contesting the federal seat.
“It was a crowded affair and, more importantly, it was held during the movement control order in defiance of the ban on such gatherings,” one of the attendees told MalaysiaNow under strict conditions of anonymity.
The gathering was held to get their support for a plan to refer Faisal to the Umno disciplinary board over statements critical of party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Faisal, who is also the press secretary to Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa, had among others accused the party president of betraying Umno by supporting PKR president Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to topple the government.
The remarks were made in response to the fallout between his boss and Zahid.
Faisal has since been slapped with a show-cause letter by his party.
During the gathering at Ku Nan’s house, attendees were told to sign letters in support of a motion to take disciplinary action against Faisal.
Last week, MalaysiaNow reported that with Ku Nan out of the running at the next general election, Umno is likely to name Khairy as its candidate for Putrajaya.
The move is seen as fulfilling a promise by Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan not long ago that Khairy would be given a “safe seat” in the event that Mohamad chose to contest in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Khairy’s seat since 2008.
Khairy, the science, technology and innovation minister who is heading the government’s Covid-19 vaccination drive, is seen as a popular choice.
Putrajaya, where the bulk of the electorate are civil servants, was long considered a “safe seat” for Umno when it dominated the federal government.
Ku Nan has won all four elections in the constituency, defeating candidates from PKR, PAS and Bersatu.
But party grassroots now believe that he is a liablity given his corruption conviction.
As such, they are against any move to promote Ku Nan’s son to take over his father’s seat.
“If Tengku Iqbal is to contest here, Umno stands very little chance. Voters here, even those who don’t support any party, are not in favour of the father or the son,” a local Umno leader in Putrajaya told MalaysiaNow.
“It should not be the way. This is not a hereditary position.”
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