He said this was in line with Umno’s convention that if any leaders/members are charged, they should take leave to focus on their trial until it is over.

“If we look at Umno’s convention, its culture and practice, what Umno Youth has said is true.

“We respect the views of those voicing out their opinions.”

Earlier, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said going on leave would allow Zahid to better focus on his upcoming corruption trial, adding that he was not calling for Zahid’s resignation.

“We are not urging him to resign. We are just urging him to take leave, for a while at least, until everything is over,” he said, adding Zahid’s trial could “take some time”.

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa refused to comment on the matter, saying that he didn’t wish to interfere.

“I have no view at all, nothing to say. It is their view.”

He said there were no rules stating that any members or leaders should take leave if they are charged.

“That is from the view of Umno Youth.”

Kinabatangan MP Bung Moktar Radin disagreed with Umno Youth’s proposal, saying there was no reason for Zahid to take leave.

“My stand is that he is innocent until proven guilty. So, we should all support him.

“If Umno is in power, that’s different. Now, we are in the opposition and have no power. If he is found guilty, then that is a different story. Then, we will decide.”

His son, Mohamad Kurniawan Naim Moktar, who is the Kinabatangan Umno Youth chief, had said the call by Asyraf was unbecoming of the wing’s reputation as a “strong bastion of the party”.

“Umno Youth should aggressively defend the leadership and the party,” Kurniawan said.

Zahid, the former deputy prime minister, was elected as the Umno president in July.

He is facing 45 charges related to criminal breach of trust, money laundering and corruption, involving more than RM100 million.

Umno Youth’s stand comes days after Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who heads the party’s council of advisers, said it was best for Zahid to either take leave or resign from his post.

He said this was the practice of previous Umno leaders who had been charged in court.

However, Umno has since said it was never a practice for leaders charged in court to take leave.

Independent analyst Kamarul Zaman Yusof said Asyraf was rather brave in his comments and this showed the independent minds that most of Umno Youth members have these days.

He predicted that Asyraf’s stand would make him the centre of attention among Umno members.

“The statement is rather fair and not made in a hostile manner. He is merely asking the president to consider taking temporary leave to concentrate on his court cases.

“This is opposed to an outright demand for Zahid to step down or to demand that the Umno Supreme Council ask him to take leave or step down.

“There’s no doubt that Asyraf will take a beating from Zahid’s hardcore supporters.”

However, Kamarul was confident Umno members would eventually come to their senses and appreciate what Asyraf had said and be no longer swayed by sentiments.

The best thing for Umno to do is to hold a closed-door emergency general meeting to decide on not just Zahid’s position but also on Umno’s direction in the light of this new major development, he said.