Malaysia’s Umno in tough spot ahead of Johor vote after veteran claims royal interference

Malaysia’s ruling Malay party was pulled into a sensitive palace row on the eve of Johor’s nomination day after a veteran figure quit Umno and accused the southern state’s royal household of influencing the timing of a snap election.The controversy lands at a difficult moment for the United Malays National Organisation, the Malay nationalist party that anchors Barisan Nasional (BN). It is trying to defend Johor, its birthplace and one of its last major strongholds, without allowing the campaign to be overtaken by Malaysia’s highly sensitive “3R” politics of race, religion and royalty.Johor police said 153 reports had been lodged nationwide by Thursday afternoon over remarks made by Mohd Puad Zarkashi, an Umno supreme council member and outgoing Rengit assemblyman, when he announced he was leaving the party with immediate effect.