PERMATANG PAUH: The Umno Supreme Council should decide on whether or not party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should resign over an audio clip allegedly involving him and PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, which has since gone viral.
Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican said while it was easy to call for one's resignation, the most democratic way out of the impasse is for the party to hold its elections.
"In this issue (calls for Zahid to resign), let the party's supreme council decide.
"What is important is for the party to hold its elections, which is the most democratic way out of this," he said, commenting on calls by various party leaders for Zahid to resign following the viral audio clip.
Speaking to the media after officiating the state-level Teacher's Day celebration at UiTM Penang here, Reezal Merican, who is also the Youth and Sports Minister, said the party president was given the mandate to lead the party in a democratic manner.
"As such, let the democratic process takes its course as well this time around around.
"Instead of asking him (Zahid) to resign, it is better for the party to hold the polls," he said.
Various Umno leaders have called for Zahid's resignation following the emergence of an audio clip making its rounds on social media.
The four-minute audio clip, allegedly featuring the Umno president and the opposition chief, contained a conversation referring to Zahid's speech at the recent Umno's general assembly, where he said the party would not accept Anwar, DAP and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Both Zahid and Anwar have since denied that it was them featured in the clip.
Reezal Merican said while he personally felt that the content of the clip was "disturbing", he was nevertheless relieved that Zahid has denied that it was him.
"I see the denial as the first line of defence.
"However, as a party member, I want to see more affirmation. As a supreme council member, I will bring this up so that there will be greater affirmation.
"Also, whoever is behind this cannot break us (Umno) up. We will emerge stronger with our principles," he said, adding that he would never work with PKR.
Earlier, Reezal Merican said the term for the current Umno office bearers would end in May, and in the spirit of democracy, the party polls should be held then and not postponed further.
He said if other political parties such as DAP could hold their party polls, there is no reason why Umno can't.
"We are more mature in terms of age, and by holding the polls, we will keep to our promises.
"So, this is not a matter of expediting the party polls. The time has come for us to hold one. Let us be a party which adheres to a system we created ourselves," he added.