In a press interview, Muhyiddin was quoted as saying: “The action was unusual: I’ve never seen such harsh action in Umno or any other party. I don’t want to say it was cruel, but it was very harsh.”

His critics have said that Muhyiddin had been suspended last month for being ineffective and not performing as a deputy president for making criticisms of Prime Minister Najib Razak about a RM2.6 billion deposit in his personal accounts in 2013. The suspension came six months after he was removed from the cabinet as deputy prime minister.

In an interview published by Sinar Harian today, Muhyiddin said he was not allowed to chair the meetings of the Umno management committee or Barisan Nasional committee. “I became paralysed, I couldn’t perform my duties,” he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail Online.

“It’s not that I didn’t want to do so, but I was intentionally blocked. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere, to the extent that party members were afraid to invite me, even though I was deputy president,” he added.

Muhyiddin has said he would challenge his suspension by consulting the Registrar of Societies. He said Umno’s Supreme Council should have referred disciplinary issues to the disciplinary board which comprises former party members and experienced former office bearers, with none from the supreme council.

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Division heads demand action against Muhyiddin, Mukhriz