Mukhriz faces action over call for Abdullah to quit - The Star

By Loong Meng Yee and Teh Eng Hock

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Youth will refer Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir to the party’s management committee for action to be taken for asking Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down as party president.

Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein hit out at the Jerlun MP, who is also an executive council member of the movement, saying: “Mukhriz pressuring the president to step down is nothing new, but what I am sad and disappointed over and cannot accept is that he set conditions by saying that if the president did not resign by July, he would not hesitate to leave the party.”

In an immediate response, Mukhriz said he was prepared to face any possible action but hoped “we are not told to shut our mouths”.

“I am prepared. Had I not been, I would not have made public statements. As for my position, I have made it known I will remain in Umno. I will also not leave Barisan Nasional. That will be my very last option,” said Mukhriz at the Parliament lobby Wednesday.

He said Hishammuddin had misunderstood his remarks, adding that he had not issued an ultimatum for Abdullah to resign by July because “the cause and effect is not as direct as that”.

“I said the branch meetings would start in July and hoped changes would occur before the meetings start,” he said.

[More at http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/22/nation/21324579&sec=nation]