Contacted by FMT, Akmal simply said that Lokman, an Umno Supreme Council member, should “wait for my lawsuit”.

In a viral video lasting more than a minute, Lokman claimed that Akmal had a hidden agenda to position Hishammuddin as a future prime minister, describing him as “H2O’s youth chief”.

H2O is a nickname of Hishammuddin, who is currently suspended from Umno.

Hishammuddin, the Sembrong MP, contends that he was never officially informed of the reason for his six-year suspension in January 2023, and has refused to appeal.

Lokman had also said that Akmal was serving as Hishammuddin’s “agent” to hamper ties between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan, claiming that Hishammuddin wants Umno to work with Perikatan Nasional.

These allegations prompted an Umno Youth division to report Lokman to the party’s disciplinary board for allegedly breaching party discipline and ethics.

Kapar Umno Youth said Lokman’s accusations were slanderous and intended to divide the Umno leadership, at a time when the party was preparing for the next general election.

The division called for Lokman to be sacked from the party altogether, saying his claims could cause grassroots members to have a trust deficit in the Umno top leadership.