Umno information chief Azalina Othman Said today played down the spat between youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh and Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam, describing it as a normal part of democracy in the party.
She said Umno, founded in 1946, had always practised a system based on discipline, discussion, and democracy in addressing differences in opinion.
“In Umno, there are many different characters. I have no issue if someone is satisfied or dissatisfied – they can bring it up at meetings or refer it to the disciplinary board.
“Umno is an open and democratic party. Disagreements among leaders are normal in politics,” she told reporters after attending a Jalur Gemilang flag-raising ceremony in conjunction with National Day here.
Azalina, the law and institutional reform minister, also said that the spat was not raised at the party’s recent Supreme Council meeting.
“The last meeting focused on more pressing issues, namely divisional meetings and preparations for the Sabah state election. This issue did not come up at all,” she said.
Last week, FMT reported that Akmal was planning to sue Lokman for claiming that he was an “agent” of former Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein.
When contacted, Akmal said that Lokman should “wait for my lawsuit”.
Lokman had said in a viral video clip 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.
Lokman also said that Akmal was serving as Hishammuddin’s “agent” to hamper ties between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan, claiming that Hishammuddin wanted Umno to work with Perikatan Nasional.
An Umno Youth division subsequently reported 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 also called for Lokman to be sacked from the party, saying his claims could cause a trust deficit in the top leadership among grassroots members.
