Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh announced that he will join the solidarity rally for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on Jan 6 despite his party backing out.
However, the Malacca state executive councillor said he would attend the rally in his personal capacity.
“As a party member, we uphold the decree of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and respect the party’s decision not to gather.
“However, I will still attend in my personal capacity to support Najib, as I have before,” the New Straits Times reported him as saying today.
Yesterday, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki announced that his party has called off its rally for Najib, who will be attending a court hearing regarding the purported royal addendum allowing him to serve his remaining prison sentence at home.
This comes after a statement from Istana Negara on the king’s pardon powers and a warning from the inspector-general of police not to attend the rally.
Meanwhile, PAS has announced that it will press ahead with the rally despite Umno backing out.
In a statement today, the Islamist party’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said the rally was not in breach of the Agong’s decree or Federal Constitution.