KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (
pic) has urged calm following sharp criticism from top Umno leaders over a year-end Facebook post by DAP publicity secretary Yeo Bee Yin celebrating the High Court’s rejection of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid for house arrest.
“Do not add fuel to the fire,” Ahmad Zahid wrote in the post, which has garnered more than 4,500 likes and 2,900 comments.
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Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno president and deputy prime minister, did not elaborate further.
The controversy stems from Yeo’s
Facebook post linking to a news article titled “No house arrest for Najib”, posted hours after the High Court ruled that the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s addendum on Najib’s house arrest was invalid, as it had not been discussed during the Federal Territories Pardons Board meeting.
Umno leaders quickly condemned Yeo’s post.
BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir questioned why Yeo would make a statement appearing to celebrate Najib’s predicament.
“Why celebrate? Do not celebrate the suffering of others. Life is like a cycle. Remember, your leaders are not exempt from mistakes,” he wrote on
Facebook.
Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh also criticised the post as “insulting and unnecessary,” urging the party to reconsider its support for the unity government.
“Better to be an opposition with dignity than to be insulted by these reckless individuals. What are we waiting for? Just withdraw support from this government,” he said in a video shared on
Facebook.
Meanwhile, Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki called for the party to review its collaboration with Pakatan Harapan (PH) if certain parties continue to fail to appreciate Umno’s contributions in the unity government.
He described Yeo’s post as “rude, extreme and utterly inhumane.” “If you cannot show even a shred of sympathy, do not make statements that are offensive and hurtful. More so when the person insulted is a former top leader dearly respected by the entire Umno family, who today helps form the unity government,” he said.
Najib, who is serving a six-year jail term over the RM42 million SRC International case, remains at Kajang Prison.
The High Court also dismissed his bid to compel the government and six others to implement the addendum for house arrest purposes. - Malay Mail
