PUTRAJAYA, 19 Mac (Bernama) -- There are no elements of sabotage or scapegoat in the Umno Disciplinary Board's action on party vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam for involvement in money politics, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said today.
The Umno deputy president said the board acted based on information and Mohd Ali was not made a scapegoat in the party's efforts to fight money politics.
"We cannot question the Disciplinary Board's intention and must place our confidence in it if we want to clean up Umno," he told reporters after launching the Inland Revenue Board's electronic service campaign here.
Najib was asked to comment on reports that some members had questioned the credibility of the board and also political talk on the possibility of sabotage and on Mohd Ali being made a scapegoat.
He said the board was set up as a result of a special conference and its members were appointed by the party.
The board announced Tuesday that 15 of the 29 Umno members investigated had been found guilty of involvement in money politics.
Mohd Ali, who is an Umno vice-president, was found guilty because three of his agents had indulged in money politics and was banned from contesting the deputy presidency in the party elections next week.
Asked whether the government's decision to retain Mohd Ali as Melaka chief minister would send the wrong message to the public that a "corrupt" leader could still lead the state government, Najib said:
"The facts in his case are different in that the work (money politics) was done by certain people. Because this is based on facts, the Disciplinary Board decided that he could hold the post."
Asked to comment on former prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that the appeals of those found guilty by the board should not be entertained to show that Umno was serious about fighting money politics, he said Umno could not deny them their right of appeal and it was up to the Appeal Board to decide.
On the confusion among some members over the fact that some members were charged in court for money politics while others who were found guilty by the board were only given a warning and could still contest in the party election, he said: "That is the Disciplinary Board's consideration. It is independent. We won't interfere."
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