KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 16): Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Friday rejected allegations that the party’s decision to remain in the unity government was driven by a bid to save his political aspirations, while sidelining his predecessor Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
"Zahid is already in the clear. Those were old allegations," he said, smiling, during his policy address at the Umno General Assembly 2025.
Addressing claims that Umno’s cooperation with the unity government was meant to protect him personally, Zahid said the narrative that he had abandoned Najib was unfair and misleading.
“When Najib’s name is mentioned, our support has never changed and our efforts to defend him have never wavered,” Zahid said, adding that Najib had personally conveyed his greetings to delegates at the assembly.
He said Umno had continued to seek compassion and clemency for Najib through constitutional channels, rejecting suggestions that party solidarity with the former prime minister had been sacrificed for political expediency.
Najib is serving a six-year jail term for misusing RM42 million from SRC International and, on Dec 26, 2025, was sentenced to an additional 15 years and fined RM11.38 billion for abuse of power and money laundering. He is appealing the latest conviction.
On Jan 8, the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) reclassified Zahid's Yayasan Akalbudi case as requiring “no further action”.
The AGC said the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence following further investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, after Zahid was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal on 47 charges in September 2023.
The AGC said the MACC probe had examined the source, acquisition and use of funds, as well as matters raised in six representations submitted by Zahid, before concluding that the available evidence was insufficient to sustain a prosecution.
In this case, Zahid had been accused of misappropriating RM31 million belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi, involving charges of criminal breach of trust, corruption and money laundering.
Separately, Zahid was also acquitted of 40 graft charges linked to a foreign visa contract in 2022, with the prosecution withdrawing its appeal against the acquittal in December 2024.