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Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has urged Umno members to maintain their support for and loyalty to the leadership of Prime Minister and Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.

He said certain quarters, particularly the opposition, often tried to sow the seeds of hatred towards Umno and the BN government.

"At times like this, we should not abandon the ship when it has been hit by a wave. We have to stay together. This is our pledge and commitment," he said.

Zahid ( photo ), who is also Umno vice-president, reiterated that his appointment as deputy prime minister was not a 'reward' but a responsibility towards the various races in this country.

"When we are in a certain position, we need to give our best service to the people regardless of religion, race and culture," he said when speaking at Bagan Datoh Umno divisional delegates meeting held at Wisma Umno, Bagan Datoh.

Meanwhile in Muar, Umno members were urged to remain united in any situation and to put their trust in the party leadership and the government to establish a strong and progressive nation.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said it was not the time for members to dwell on unproductive things as they could weaken the party.

"Stubbornness will not solve any problem. We must be rational and accept it as a test. The important thing is the party, religion and nation," he said when opening the Bakri Umno divisional delegates meeting.

Tengku Adnan said Umno was now on the right track and thus, members should not stop the fight to uphold the race and religion.

He urged Bakri Umno to prepare early for the 14th general elections since BN lost the Bakri parliamentary constituency and its two state seats of Bentayan and Sungai Abong in 2013.

Declare political fundings

In Kota Tinggi, Umno supreme council member, Ahmad Shabery Cheek said it was timely to make it compulsory for every political party to declare their political fundings as governance of political funding reform.

Shabery (photo) who was met by reporters after opening the 12th Pengerang Umno delegates meeting here today said this declaration was not an unusual matter as it had been raised in the cabinet meeting before but was opposed by the opposition.

"It is not an offence to receive these funds but clear rules and system are needed to monitor on who gave the contributions, to whom and how the money was used.

"Furthermore, with the recent development in the country it is necessary to implement the reform immediately," he said in commenting on the matter raised by Najib on the issue here.

The prime minister, at the opening of the Seremban Umno delegates meeting this morning, said he would propose that political parties in the country declared their source of fundings.

According to him, this was to ensure fairness to all parties as prior to this the opposition parties only wanted Umno to disclose the party's financial resources, but they did not want to reveal theirs.

In Kuala Langat, Umno members were advised not to lose focus and to continue to work hard for the 14th general elections even though faced with the sacking of Muhyiddin Yassin as the deputy prime minister on Tuesday.

Umno remained strong

Umno supreme council member Ismail Sabri Yaakob said such decision was not new as previously, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his administration, had dropped three of his deputies.

"Although Mahathir sacked Musa Hitam, Abdul Ghafar Baba and Anwar Ibrahim, Umno remained strong and encountered no problems.

"It is not the individual, but the party that matters.

"If Umno members continue to unite and work hard towards GE14 I believe Umno will continue to stay strong even with a change in leadership," he told a press conference after opening the Kuala Langat Umno delegates meeting here today.

In Kota Kinabalu, United Sabah People's Party (PBRS) president said Najib had remained calm and focused as the leader of the country despite the accusations and baseless news spread through social media.

Kurup, who is also minister in the prime minister's department, said Najib as a leader had demonstrated mental and emotional strength in the face of challenges.

Kurup said Najib's strength could also be seen from the support received from BN component parties.

"The prime minister had created various good policies particularly in the government transformation programme and in strengthening national unity through the 1Malaysia concept," he told reporters at a Hari Raya gathering with Sepanggar residents and orphans.

Meanwhile, Kurup urged the public to stop spreading false information and news on the social media as rumours would only raise fear and confusion among the public.

- Bernama

 

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