More will follow in Saifuddin Abdullah's footsteps and abandon Umno under the stewardship of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, said former information minister Zainuddin Maidin.

"Saifuddin saw that Najib's influence (as a moderate) is waning, so he jumped before the ship sank. I think many more will jump before the ship sinks," he told Malaysiakini .

Zainuddin said Najib's image as a moderate is eroding due to the prime minister failing to make a concrete stand on certain issues.

"For example, on the single stream schools championed by Utusan ( Malaysia ), if he didn't agree with it, he should have told Utusan (an Umno-owned newspaper) to stop from the word go.

"Similarly on the red shirts, he let it happen and then criticised it," he said.

Better known as Zam, the former Utusan Malaysia editor-in-chief also claimed that Saifuddin's departure would hurt Najib more than Umno.

"Umno won't be at a loss, but this will affect Najib's image vis-a-vis moderation,” he added.

Zainuddin also said that an exodus would break Umno apart, but at the same time remained optimistic as it would lead to greater unity in the future.

Saifuddin was the head of the Global Movement of Moderates, a world peace initiative mooted by Najib in his address at the 2010 United Nations General Assembly.

He quit Umno today to join PKR because he was dissatisfied with how the government handled the 1MDB imbroglio and the RM2.6 billion scandal.

However, Umno leaders have downplayed his exit, with secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor describing Saifuddin as a "liability" to the party and BN.

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