Umno supreme council member Ismail Sabri Yaakob has urged party members to strengthen the party for the sake of the Malays.

"A weak Umno will have negative impact on the Malays because Umno, which has 3.7 million members nationwide, is the largest Malay party," he said after opening the Labuan Umno division delegates meeting today.

Ismail Sabri regretted that some Umno members were influenced by lies spread by the opposition who were bent on running down the party's leadership.

"A weak Umno will not only become a burden for the president but also the party members, while the Malays will end up as the victims," he added.

- Bernama