'Shocked' Muhyiddin calls for calm

The news of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's resignation from Umno has shocked party vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin, who is currently on an official trip to New York.

The international trade and industry minister advised party members against making hasty decisions which can damage the party, the position of the Malays and the country.

According to Bernama, he said they should act wisely and with courtesy so that the situation would not become worse.

Expressing shock over Mahathir’s resignation, Muhyiddin said it was important for Umno members to look after the well-being of the party and the position of the Malays because the component parties of 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 said.

Mahathir yesterday quit as an Umno member because he felt that Umno 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.

The former premier, who led Umno for 22 years, had been highly critical of his successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s leadership over the past few years.

In the aftermath of BN’s disastrous performance in the March 8 polls, Mahathir had openly called on Abdullah to resign.

Critical situation

Describing the situation as critical, Muhyiddin said 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 Umno members in Johor who would also resign following 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 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.

Umno will overcome this

In a related development, Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon also expressed surprise over Mahathir's decision.

However, he believed that the party had the strength and experience to handle the sudden incident.

Koh added 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 that note, he added that Gerakan hopes that the sudden development would not affect the political stability of the country as a whole.

Asked if the development would affect foreign investors' interest, he said the investors might be "a bit concerned and confused" in the short term.

However, in the long run, Malaysia's competitiveness would be determined by its resources and infrastructure, he added.

Principle of loyalty

Sabah Chief Minister 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 chief, said that with its vast experience and political maturity, the party 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 said.

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 Mahathir's resignation would weaken Umno because as party members, they upheld the principle of party loyalty.

Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Said said Mahathir's withdrawal from Umno would to a certain extent pose problems to the party.

However, he said, it was Mahathir's right and as a leader, he had his followers.

"What had 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.