Penang Umno leaders should refrain from internal sabotage and conflicts when deciding on candidates for the coming general election.

This is especially so if the party wants to wrest more seats from Pakatan Rakyat, a local Malay NGO said said today.

Umno veterans should give way to qualified new faces from the party to contest in in the coming election instead of sabotaging their chances, the Penang Malay Congress (PMC) said.

"They should give way, not stab one another in the back to destroy the credibility of Umno," said the PMC secretary Mohd Noor Mohd Abdul Kader told a press conference.

Mohd Noor, a lawyer by profession, said four of the Umno seats that Pakatan took in 2008, were with a majority of about 500 votes only.

"This happened because of sabotage by Umno members themselves. It is not wrong, and not prejudicial, to say that Umno should be concerned if the DAP puts a Malay candidate to contest in an Umno stronghold," he said.

"A new political paradigm might emerge and if this theory becomes a reality, Umno may lose a few more seats," Mohd Noor added, referring to the 13th general election, which must be called by 2013.

Resolve conflict, DPM says

Mohd Noor's remarks support the statement by Umno deputy president and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin who cautioned the BN component parties to resolve their internal problems before the next election.

Concerned over conflict within the parties, Muhyiddin has been meeting with the various component party leaders since October last year to discuss their preparations for the coming election.

Muhyiddin was quoted in an Utusan Malaysia report of Oct 22 last year as having said that he had called several BN leaders to discuss with them ways to improve the relationship among the component parties.

Mohd Noor believes the current political scenario has changed from the past and that the Malays have now become more discerning in their choice of candidates.

He said the people were today more prone to choose a government which prioritised the people's social betterment.

"Giving financial handouts on a one-off basis is no longer the preferred choice. That is the reality," Mohd Noor said, that Umno had to bear in mind.