“Things are about Najib right now,” Supreme Council member Othman Desa said.
“Who knows, after this, things could be about a PKR leader. Don’t confuse matters and offend your friends.
“Umno is aware of this (possibility) and does not speak of such things often, not out of fear, but out of wisdom,” he told FMT, adding that Faiz should not follow in the opposition’s footsteps.
Othman also said that the current administration helmed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, with Zahid as his deputy, was running well at the moment.
“Let us not say things that could offend others in the unity government,” he said.
Faiz, who joined PKR in March last year, claimed yesterday that should Najib be allowed house arrest, Umno could become the opposition and be forced to seek new political allies to form a government either before or after the 16th general election.
“I personally believe that Najib’s release from prison will be exploited by his supporters, as they are against the current Umno leadership.
“They will pressure the Umno president to resign and leave the government,” the former Bersatu Supreme Council member said, referring to Zahid.
Najib obtained leave on Jan 6 to begin judicial review proceedings to compel the government to execute the supplementary decree issued by former king Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest.
His lawyer Shafee Abdullah also submitted a letter from the comptroller of the Pahang royal household confirming the existence of the addendum.
The Federal Territories Pardons Board, which is chaired by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, announced on Feb 2 last year that Najib’s prison sentence in his SRC International case had been halved from 12 years to six, and his fine reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.
The former prime minister is currently serving his jail sentence at Kajang prison.
Meanwhile, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh took a swipe at Faiz, calling him a “frog” who had no right to make statements about his party.
“Frogs like these have no right to comment about other people’s parties,” he told FMT.