In a post on X, Zaid said the party was booted from power mainly because of the controversy the state investment arm had sparked.

“Putting one man in jail is not finding the root cause,” he wrote, alluding to former prime minister Najib Razak.

“Putting everyone responsible for the fiasco in jail is.”

The post by Zaid, who had briefly represented Najib in his appeal against his SRC International conviction, comes days after the High Court ordered Najib to enter his defence on 25 charges of abuse of power and money laundering involving 1MDB funds.

Najib is standing trial on four counts of abuse of power and 21 counts of money laundering involving RM2.28 billion in 1MDB funds deposited into his AmBank accounts between February 2011 and December 2014.

Zaid said his call for Umno to find the root cause of the 1MDB fiasco was not just about saving one leader but about keeping the party dominant and relevant.

“How? By fighting for real reforms to make sure the institutions are strong enough to prevent another 1MDB,” he said.

He also said he had in the past criticised Umno, sometimes harshly, for its lackadaisical attitude towards Najib and the 1MDB saga, but added that it was only because he wanted Umno to be strong.

Last week, Najib apologised to Malaysians over the 1MDB scandal. He is currently serving a six-year sentence, reduced from 12 years, after he was convicted of abuse of power, money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving funds belonging to SRC International, a former 1MDB subsidiary.