Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin has reminded party members that they should resolve problems quickly to restore the

people's confidence in the party.

He reminded them that there was a need to consolidate the party further ahead of the coming general election.

"If there are issues or dissatisfactions, or the feelings of being sidelined, or sentiments which are not conducive for the effort to strengthen the party, then we should work on resolving them quickly.

"I'm saying this not only to the Setiu division, but also to other divisions," he said when opening the Setiu Umno division meeting today.

Present were Setiu MP Mohd Jidin Shafie who is also the Setiu Umno chief, and Besut Umno division chief Idris Jusoh.

Four assemblypersons were however absent.

They are Ramlan Ali (Jabi), Abd Halim Jusoh (Permaisuri), Asha'ari Idris (Langkap) and Khazan Che Mat (Batu Rakit).

Muhyiddin said he was disappointed with the four for not turning up at the meeting.

"I'm not siding with any group but as a deputy president, I'm quite disappointed with this," he said.

'Let's do a soul searching'

The deputy prime minister said irrespective of the problems, party members should strive to tackle them wisely.

At the same time, he said, Umno members should also be sincere in their struggle and be truthful in their intention to join the party.

"As Umno members, we should give our hearts and minds to the party," he said, adding that it was incumbent upon all to maintain good relations with one another and to work together to settle any issues.

    

"Let's do a soul searching and take steps to overcome any hurdles. The sooner we are able to resolve our problems the better because our responsibility is to look after the people, because we are in the government," he said.

    

Umno, he said, should rise from its dismal performance in the 2008 general election.

 

The party should double its efforts to win back the states the Barisan Nasional lost to the opposition and to restore the coalition's two-third majority in the Dewan Rakyat, he said.

 

"We are not just facing a challenge but also a threat to our position," he said.

    

"The bottomline is, we should strengthen our party. If we are strong, the people will become more confident of us and those who are sitting by the sidelines will come to us," he said.

- Bernama