Tosrin announced his departure in a speech at the division’s delegates meeting today.
He was quoted by MalaysiaKini as saying “This is the flag that I defended for 49 years, but today I willingly wish to return this flag back to my friend the division chief, with a message to all Umno division chiefs, to take good care of Umno for the Malays”.
Earlier today, Gelang Patah Umno’s permanent chairman, Baharum Abdul Ghani, had made a surprise announcement that he was leaving the party.
In a video clip posted online, Baharum said he had never wavered from the party since he co-founded the Gelang Patah division in 1994, despite the crisis in the party over the past year.
It is understood that the two men were members of Gabungan Ketua Cawangan Malaysia, a group of anti-Najib dissidents who had issued a statement last year urging Najib Razak to step down as party president and prime minister.
A source from GKCM told FMT that the two departures had not been planned, but “it comes only from their own heart”.
GKCM secretary Azhar Daeng told FMT that the resignations had been expected because of Umno’s current instabilities. “What happened was not a plan by GKCM nor the Umno members. This was naturally due.”