Malaysia’s Umno chief denies he ‘sidelined’ Najib to secure his own legal freedom

The president of Malaysia’s Umno has denied abandoning disgraced ex-prime minister Najib Razak to save himself, as fissures emerge in the former ruling party over the mixed legal fortunes of two of its top leaders.Umno grass-roots members have urged President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to quit Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government in protest after the High Court blocked Najib’s bid to serve the remainder of his jail term under house arrest last month. It also handed the one-time party figurehead a fresh 15-year jail sentence for corruption linked to state fund 1MDB.In contrast, the attorney general last week cleared Ahmad Zahid of corruption charges linked to a charitable body that he founded, saying there were insufficient grounds to pursue the case further.Umno, which led the country for six decades, in 2022 joined Anwar’s rag-tag coalition of political friends and foes bound together at the behest of then king Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah.Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (centre) leaves the court after his verdict in the 1MDB trial on December 26. Photo: AFPOn Friday, Ahmad Zahid dismissed claims that he had left Najib to his fate.“There has been talk that the decision to join the coalition government was for Zahid to save himself. That is the accusation,” the deputy prime minister said in his policy speech at Umno’s general assembly.