BANGI: The decision of the Umno general assembly to approve the no-contest motion for the top two party posts must be respected, says Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Umno president added that any opposing views must also be respected.
"The decision has been made, it must be respected but any personal views on the decision must also be respected," he told reporters after launching the Karnival Belia Orang Asli Rentals Desa Sejahtera (K-Boards) on Tuesday (Feb 28) night.
Ahmad Zahid said this in response to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's comment on Tuesday that his decision to not defend his vice-president's position in the upcoming Umno election is because he feels that the electoral process this time is not in line with the party's constitution.
Umno is in the midst of its internal elections for the 191 divisions and 22,000 branches, which is running from Feb 1 to March 18.
The Umno general assembly approved a motion on Jan 14 for the president and deputy president not be contested.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said RM200,000 would be allocated to support the Orang Asli Youth council.
He said that the funds would come directly from the Deputy Prime Minister's office allocation and a further RM200,000 allocation in the form of tools and resources from the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa) to support Orang Asli youth.
Ahmad Zahid, who is Rural and Regional Development Minister, added that he has also agreed to nominate an Orang Asli youth as a senator.
"As long as I am in office, I will remain committed to improving the quality of life and status of the Orang Asli community in Malaysia," he said in his speech.
