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Umno leader dismisses sacking rumours, insists Najib step down

The women's wing head at the Gopeng Umno division is unperturbed by talk of being sacked from the party for calling for the party president to step down, Sinar Harian reports. Datuk Hamidah Osman (pic, right) said she stood by the principle that the party was more important than any individual leader. "I hold on to the principle of being loyal to the party, and not to the leader. I repeat my call for the prime minister to resign. "Don't tell me three million members need to sacrifice for the sake of one man. "It should be the leader who sacrifices for the sake of the party's three million members," the Malay daily quoted her as saying. Hamidah has been speaking out against Najib since May, urging him to accept the reality that the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal had compromised the people's trust in Umno. However, she hoped she would not be sacked as it would only cause divisions in the party. Recently, Langkawi Umno member Anina Saadudin was sacked from the party after she took Najib to court to account for the RM2.6 billion donation he received into his personal accounts. Najib has also struck back at his critics within the party, dropping his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as well as Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal from the Cabinet. The prime minister, who is also the finance minister, is chairman of 1MDB's advisory board. Pressure on him to step down increased after it was revealed in July that RM2.6 billion, which he later said was a "donation", had gone to his personal bank accounts. Najib maintains that as the Umno president, he has the right to hold funds in trust for the party. He has also said that the party's three million members still supported him. Hamidah's name is rumoured to be on a list of Umno leaders to be sacked when the party's top decision making body, the Supreme Council, meets next week. – September 5, 2015.