Internal conflicts within Kelantan Umno had was the catalyst behind the party's failure to recapture the state from PAS in the last general election, said Kelantan Umno liaison committee chairperson Mustapa Mohamed.

He said if acts of sabotage did not happen among party members, Umno would have won several more state seats, enabling it to form the Kelantan government.

"Due to these acts (of sabotage), a number of state constituencies saw the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate losing to PAS on a small majority," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

In the election, PAS managed to cling on to power by winning 24 of the 21 state seats while the rest fell to BN. In the 1999 general election, BN won only two out of the 43 state seats on offer then.

Mustapa, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, said the Kelantan Umno liaison committee had asked its divisional chiefs to submit reports on the acts of sabotage by party members.

He said this was necessary for Umno to regain the state in the next general election.

Backing Najib

In another development, Mustapa said the Kelantan Umno liaison committee supports the call for Najib Abdul Razak to be returned as Umno deputy president unopposed in the party election in June.

He said Najib, who is the deputy prime minister, has the integrity, experience and character to be the Umno deputy president.

Najib, who is an Umno vice-president, is currently performing duties of the party deputy president.

Mustapa said this when commenting on yesterday's statement by another vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin who called for Najib to continue as deputy president to ensure stability in the party.

"We hope all Umno members abide by this advice, I think what Tan Sri Muhyiddin said reflects the aspirations of all Umno members," Mustapa told reporters.