Ex-Umno leader Mohd Puad Zarkashi quits the party, accusing Johor chief Onn Hafiz of being a yes-man who reduces the state chapter to a tethered puppet
JOHOR BAHRU: UMNO’s Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi announced his departure from the party with immediate effect today.
In a statement posted on Facebook today, the incumbent for Rengit state assembly seat said the decision was made without any coercion and would allow him to voice his views freely.
“Without any hesitation, I announce my departure from UMNO with immediate effect from today, June 25, 2026. Therefore, UMNO need not go through the trouble of expelling me.
“It will also make it easier for me to hold differing views without being accused of stabbing the party in the back. I am now free to criticise UMNO, a platform that I love and respect for the Malays and Malaysians,” he said.
Mohd Puad said there were many other examples which, in his view, showed that Onn Hafiz was merely a “pak turut” (yes-man), effectively reducing Johor UMNO to a “tethered puppet”.
He said his decision to leave the party was an act of “political courage” aimed at exposing what he described as wrongdoing before it became more serious.
Mohd Puad, who is also a former Johor State Legislative Assembly Speaker, dismissed suggestions that his decision was driven by personal interests.
Yesterday, the former Batu Pahat Member of Parliament hinted that he would make an important announcement after claiming there were irregularities in the selection of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates for the Johor state election.
He had earlier confirmed that he would not defend the Rengit state seat in the upcoming election despite winning it in the 2022 Johor state election and had proposed that younger candidates be given the opportunity to contest.
In the 12th General Election, Mohd Puad won the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat after defeating PAS candidate Muhammad Abdullah with a majority of 12,968 votes.
The former Batu Pahat UMNO division chief contested the seat again in the 13th General Election but lost to PKR candidate Datuk Mohd Idris Jusi by a majority of 1,524 votes.
Mohd Puad also held several positions in the federal administration, including Deputy Education Minister from 2009 to 2013 and Director-General of the Special Affairs Department (JASA) from March 2015 to April 2018.
