Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak may have hoped to quickly quell any unhappiness in Umno, particularly in Johor, over the ouster of Muhyiddin Yassin as deputy prime minister but the task may now be more challenging than expected.

This, former minister Zainuddin Maidin argued, was after Johor Menteri Besar Khaled Nordin's ( photo ) subtle message to the state's Umno rank and file.

"Umno president Najib's hope for Umno division leaders nationwide to shut their mouth about 1MDB may be impossible after Khaled gave a clear message to all Umno members not to remain silent as Umno had been betrayed," said Zainuddin in an updated blog posting today.

Khaled in a Facebook posting this morning said Umno members could no longer remain silent when the party had deviated from its struggle in order to defend a few groups under the guide of "loyalty".

He added that Umno members also cannot be silent in the face of corruption and the trust in the party being betrayed.

Discontent among Muhyiddin's supporters

This was after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) confirmed that RM2.6 billion was deposited into Najib's private bank accounts but said it was a "donation" and not from 1MDB.

MACC did not reveal the exact source of the funds.

Last Tuesday, Najib had dropped Muhyiddin as deputy prime minister and Shafie Apdal as a minister for criticising the prime minister's handling of 1MDB.

The move to drop Muhyiddin, who was Johor menteri besar for nine years, had caused discontent among his supporters in the state.

Shafie's Umno division in Semporna had also withdrawn Najib's invitation to officiate its annual general meeting as protest.