Hishammuddin as PM: Merdeka Centre survey to split UMNO - Irmohizam

The recent survey of Merdeka noted that most respondents want UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to become the country's next Prime Minister, replacing Datuk Seri Najib Razak is seen as a move to split the party.

UMNO supreme council member Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim said the survey is a planned strategy by certain quarters who want to see a rift between the party's top leaders.

He said the party is stable with strong solidarity under the leadership of Najib.

"The leaders of Opposition parties who were envious of the unity and support from the grassroots to top leadership for Najib had gone to the extent of using media portals to come up with such survey," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

The Merkeda Center survey carried out from Jan 21 to Jan 30 found 19.8 per cent of 1,008 respondents choosing Hishammuddin as the next prime minister. UMNO Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin received 8.6 per cent whiile Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (8.4%), Rafizi Ramli (3.9%), Mohamed Azmin Ali (3.7%) dan Nurul Izzah Anwar (1.7%).