Hishammuddin's suspension not discussed at Supreme Council meeting, says Zahid

Free Malaysia Today

01-07-2025

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said it would be up to the Supreme Council to decide on whether to lift former vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein's six-year suspension if the matter was raised.
BANGI : Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says the possibility of lifting Hishammuddin Hussein's six-year suspension was not raised at the party's Supreme Council meeting last night.
Zahid, however, said he would bring the matter up to the Supreme Council 'when the time comes'.
'And they will decide,' he told reporters here.
Zahid was asked to comment on a video Hishammuddin had posted on social media in which the former vice-president hinted that he was unlikely to appeal his suspension from the party, saying it was a matter of principle.
Hishammuddin was suspended from Umno for six years in January 2023. Media reports citing the suspension letter said it was due to a violation of Clause 20.9 of the party's constitution, though no further details were provided.
In December last year, calls emerged for Hishammuddin to return to Umno following the Supreme Council's decision to lift the suspension of former Pasir Salak MP Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.
Zahid was reported as saying the party was open to accepting Hishammuddin's return, provided he filed an appeal.
Meanwhile, a Supreme Council member who spoke on condition of anonymity said that Johor Umno chief Onn Hafiz Ghazi did not attend the Supreme Council meeting last night.
Onn Hafiz had previously pledged to bring forward a motion by the Sembrong Umno division to reinstate Hishammuddin.
'There was no discussion about it,' the source told FMT when asked if the meeting discussed Hishammuddin's membership.
On June 21, the Sembrong Umno division in Johor passed a motion urging the party leadership to lift Hishammuddin's suspension immediately and unconditionally.
The source explained that typically, all motions passed by Umno divisions would be collected, filtered and reviewed by a committee at the party headquarters.
'These motions will then be handed over to another committee tasked with deciding whether to act on them, discuss them or reject them.'
The source also said Zahid only repeated what he had previously stated – that any suspended member must file an appeal if they wished to have their suspension lifted.
The source added Zahid informed the meeting that Hishammuddin knew the reason behind his suspension.
FMT has reached out to Onn Hafiz for comment.