Johor bahru: UMNO's Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi announced his departure from the party with immediate effect today.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the incumbent for Rengit state assembly seat stated in a Facebook post that his decision to leave was made without any coercion, enabling him to express 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," he declared. "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."
Mohd Puad criticized Onn Hafiz, describing him as merely a "pak turut" (yes-man), which he claims has effectively reduced Johor UMNO to a "tethered puppet." He stated that his decision to leave the party was a demonstration of "political courage" intended to expose wrongdoing before it escalated further.
The former Johor State Legislative Assembly Speaker dismissed any suggestions that his resignation was motivated by personal interests. Just yesterday, he hinted at an important announcement after alleging irregularities in the selection of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates for the Johor state election.
Mohd Puad confirmed he would not seek to defend the Rengit state seat in the upcoming election, despite having won it in the 2022 Johor state election, and suggested that younger candidates should be given the opportunity to contest.
In the 12th General Election, Mohd Puad secured the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat by defeating PAS candidate Muhammad Abdullah with a majority of 12,968 votes. He contested the seat again in the 13th General Election but lost to PKR candidate Datuk Mohd Idris Jusi by a margin of 1,524 votes.
Throughout his career, Mohd Puad has held several federal positions, including Deputy Education Minister from 2009 to 2013 and Director-General of the Special Affairs Department (JASA) from March 2015 to April 2018.