Zahid appoints his deputy as election chief, axes Tajuddin

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today appointed his deputy Mohamad Hasan as the party’s election director, less than a week after incumbent Tajuddin Abdul Rahman attacked the party leadership during a Supreme Council meeting.

Zahid said the move was to restructure the Umno election department and to strengthen the organisation including at the grassroots level.

“With Mohamad Hasan’s position as deputy chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN), it will facilitate the decision-making process in election preparations which will involve all component parties of BN,” he said in a statement today.

He also thanked Tajuddin for his service as election director up until now.

Tajuddin was among senior Umno leaders who disagreed with Zahid’s proposal to revoke the party’s support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

“If we pull out now, do you think the government will collapse? They may go to DAP, to get an understanding. DAP will support, it does not have to join the government, they just give their vote,” he had said during the Supreme Council meeting on July 7.

He also said there was no guarantee that Umno could solve the problems of Covid-19 and the economy.

“There were many decisions that we made in the past. All gone wrong,” he said.