TERENGGANU Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said Umno members must respect the decision made by former party president Tun Mahathir Mohamed to leave the party.

"That is his right. But for a former Prime Minister and party president to quit the party at a time when Umno is recuperating from the effects of the last general election, something must not be right somewhere.

"This matter cannot be viewed lightly. However, Umno in Terengganu will stand behind Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is the president. We will give our undivided support and hope unity prevails," he said.

Meanwhile, in Kuching, NST's Sulok Tawie reported that Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB) leaders declined to comment on Mahathir's resignation from Umno yesterday.

"It is an Umno's internal affairs," party's senior vice-president Datuk Seri Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said. "No need for me to comment on that."

Awang Tengah, who is also the Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management, was approached by reporters after the dinner cum launch of the homepage of Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Fadillah Yusof last night.