Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's decision to quit Umno will not hurt the party, says Umno president Najib Abdul Razak.

"Most probably not, because the impact is only felt when it is for the first time.

"When it is for the second time, many people will feel that it will not have any impact that can jeopardise Umno's position," the prime minister was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Najib was speaking to the press in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last night.

Mahathir resigned from Umno for the second time on Monday in protest against Najib's leadership.

He had left the party in 2008 to show his displeasure with Najib's predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and only rejoined Umno when Abdullah stepped down in 2009.

Najib said it would not be an easy task to dissuade Mahathir from quitting Umno.

"But we are not a party that rejects him, and I am not a leader who only thinks about my position as alleged because what we must understand is that I was elected through a democratic process that is the most open in the history of Umno," he added.

The Umno president also said Mahathir's exit would not divert the party's focus to drive national development and ensuring the people's well-being.

"We must show that whatever is done by anyone, including Tun (Mahathir), will not divert our attention from our main agenda, which is to continue developing the country including our economy.

"I hope we will focus on issues that we have to champion so that Umno will be much stronger in facing numerous challenges, particularly in our preparation for the next general election," he said.

– Bernama

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