Umno supreme council member Noh Omar believes that the idea of holding snap polls in Penang was just to divert attention from the investigation against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“I look at this as a kind of act by them,"  he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.

"The opposition has always been good in acting. They want to hold a state election to divert from issues.

"The issue is that Lim is being investigated, but they don’t want the rakyat to talk about it, and to instead talk about the state election. This is nothing but an act and a political gimmick.”

DAP had mooted snap polls to gauge public support for the party and for Lim, who was slapped with two corruption charges on June 30.

Lim, however, yesterday said the DAP decided to abandon plans for the snap polls because PKR did not agree with the proposal.

Commenting on the matter further, Noh said the opposition had its scriptwriters and actors.

“The reality is that they couldn’t follow through with the script. It shows they don’t dare (to hold a state election)," said the Tanjung Karang MP.

Meanwhile, responding to the report that 1,500 Sabah Umno members left the party on Saturday, citing loss of confidence in the party leadership, Noh said it was normal to have people coming and going.

“Even though there are those who leave the party, this will not weaken Umno as many others will join,” he said.