Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has advised Umno members against making hasty decisions which can damage the party, the position of the Malays and the country.

He said they should act wisely and with courtesy so that the situation would not become worse.

Expressing shock at the resignation of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as an Umno member yesterday, the International Trade and Industry Minister said it was important for Umno members to look after the wellbeing of the party and the position of the Malays because the component parties of the Barisan Nasional (BN) would lose confidence in the coalition if Umno continued to face problems.

"If there is any message from the shocking move, what needs to be done is through the democratic process in the party through discussions and consensus.

"If they are dissatisfied, there are ways of resolving it such as through the party election process where members can make suggestions to resolve the crisis in Umno,” he told reporters after a seminar on “Malaysia-United States Business Opportunities”, here on Monday.
Muhyiddin said this when commenting on Dr Mahathir’s resignation as an Umno member because the former Umno president felt that the party could no longer function as a political party to champion the cause of the Malays which was the original objective in setting up the party.

Describing the situation as critical, Muhyiddin said Dr Mahathir’s resignation would have an impact on several quarters and as such, Umno members must be careful so that Malay solidarity was not affected.

"If everyone were to take similar action, there will be no one left in Umno. Who will then champion the cause of the Malays? What will happen to our leadership in the Barisan Nasional and government?” he said when asked if there were Umno members in Johor who would also resign following Dr Mahathir’s resignation.

He said there must be a mechanism to resolve the problem so that it would not develop into a prolonged crisis.

Commenting on the statement by former deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president Tun Musa Hitam who described the decision as “the removal of the thorn in the flesh”, Muhyiddin said: “It is Tun Musa Hitam’s (personal) opinion. There are still many Umno members who respect Dr Mahathir’s views.” Muhyiddin, who had led a trade and investment mission to the United States which ended on Monday, said Umno needed a strong leadership to end the political crisis.

Meanwhile in KUALA LUMPUR, Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who expressed suprise over Dr Mahathir’s decision to quit Umno, believed that the party had the strength and experience to handle the sudden incident.

He believed that the Umno leadership, under the stewardship of Abdullah, would have the wisdom and experience to handle the situation with the support of party members.

"After all, it had happened before in Umno history...as in the history of other political parties,” he told Bernama on the sideline of World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2008, here today.

In KOTA KINABALU, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman expressed confidence that Umno would be able to recover from the present leadership crisis and return to normal.
Musa, who is also the Sabah Umno Liaison chief, said that with its vast experience and political maturity, Umno would be able to overcome the problem.

"We are shocked and saddened by Tun Dr Mahathir’s announcement. However, we appeal to all Umno members to be calm and preserve the party’s strength,” he told reporters after attending a function here.

When asked whether Umno members and leaders at all levels in Sabah would continue to be loyal to the party, Musa said: “Yes, the party is important to us. So, we ask all members to be calm and strengthen the party”. Musa also dismissed the notion that Dr Mahathir’s resignation would weaken Umno because as party members, they upheld the princple of party loyalty.

Meanwhile in KUALA TERENGGANU, Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said Dr Mahathir’s withdrawal from Umno would to a certain extent pose problems to the party.

However, he said, it was Dr Mahathir’s right and as a leader, he had his followers, the Menteri Besar said when met by reporters after a programme, “SUHAKAM With The People”. "What transpired poses a little problem to Umno. But I have to follow the party president. As party members, we have to support the top leadership,” he added.

In IPOH, former Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali appealed to Dr Mahathir to reconsider his decision and to work together with Umno to strengthen the party and continue the Umno struggle for the Malays.

In his statement here, Tajol Rosli, who is the Perak Umno chairman, said Dr Mahathir’s resignation was unexpected and had saddened not only the Umno members but also the Malay community.

"For the sake of the race, religion and country, I, on behalf of the Perak Umno Liaison Body, appeal to Tun Dr Mahathir to abort his plan to leave Umno.

"The Perak Umno Liaison Body is shocked and saddened by this development,” he said, calling on everyone, expecially Umno members to remain calm in facing the situation.