COMMENT | Umno’s Friday night purge

COMMENT | Last night, Umno decided to sack 44 members of its party, suspend four members for six years and displace yet other leaders from party positions.

These decisions, taken without a disciplinary process to allow members to defend themselves, include senior leaders currently and previously holding some of the most senior positions in the party, from vice-president and supreme council to youth chief, ministers and chief ministers.

The names are familiar – Hishammuddin Hussein, Khairy Jamaluddin, Noh Omar, Hasni Mohammad – all leaders loyal to the party but critical of its current leadership.

This is a purge that removes leadership challenges to Umno’s current leaders, particularly to party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his deputy, Mohamad Hasan...