Speaking to FMT, former Umno treasurer Azim Zabidi said Zahid’s association with the previous regime placed him in danger of being implicated in corruption scandals.
He referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s decision to freeze Umno’s assets, saying the agency was likely to zero in on individuals as well.
He said it worried him that a survey recently found that Zahid was the leading contender in the Umno presidential race.
“If Zahid, being part of the old regime, is implicated in any way and he is president, that could leave a void in Umno,” he said.
“I don’t want Umno to be in a situation in which the president, within a few months of being elected, has to step down and an acting president is put up. We don’t need this, not at this time.”
According to Ilham Centre, Zahid enjoys about 51% of support. His two main rivals, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Khairy Jamaluddin, have 35% and 6% support respectively.
But the think tank said Razaleigh was fast catching up on Zahid as calls for old heads to roll gathered momentum.
Azim said he agreed with the opinion that if Umno were indeed to reform, Zahid was not the man for the job. “If he were to win, there’s a chance that reforms will not take place.”
Two political analysts were recently at odds over whether Khairy has what it takes to be Umno’s reformer.
Faisal S Hazis of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said Khairy had been the only presidential candidate to come up with ideas for the party’s reform. However, Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya voiced reservations, saying Khairy was part of the old Umno.
Survey: Zahid the favourite, but Ku Li fast catching up for Umno top post