KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has dismissed claims of multiple factions in Umno, saying that there was only one camp in the party.
The Umno vice-president, however, stopped short from identifying the camp he was referring to, whether it was his or party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's.
"There is only one camp in Umno and that is all," he said briefly.
Of late, political observers and analysts have pointed to at least three teams that existed in Umno - Ismail Sabri, Zahid and party deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
When asked about Pasir Salak member of parliament Datuk Seri Tajuddin Rahman's recent controversial revelation regarding Umno and its leaders, Ismail Sabri described it as "a thing in the past".
He said there was no need for him or anyone to be a mediator between Zahid and Tajuddin since the issue "has already been resolved".
"That's in the past. It's already done. So there is no issue on whether we need to mediate from the left, right or centre."
On Tajuddin's appointment as the ambassador-designate to Indonesia, the prime minister cautioned leaders and the public against making assumptions and demands on the matter.
He said Tajuddin's appointment goes beyond any one person as the decision was made final with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong's approval.
"Let's not question this because it is akin to us questioning the Agong. If we want to push (for Tajuddin's appointment to be revoked), then it means we are pushing the Agong because it was him who gave his consent (to the appointment)."
In a tell-all press conference recently, Tajuddin, who was unceremoniously kicked out of the Umno supreme council days earlier, urged Zahid to step down as party president, saying the latter was destroying Umno.
Tajuddin said that Zahid was a party president who had been attracting crises to the party and had forced Umno leaders to sign a statutory declaration in support of opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
According to Tajuddin, there was also a move to topple Zahid where 130 division chiefs and several other top leaders wanted the Bagan Datuk MP out of the president's seat.
Tajuddin claimed that the leaders included Zahid's deputy, Mohamad Hasan, former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin.
However, he said the plan failed after Mohamad bailed out at the last second.