An Umno leader has challenged Parti Pribumi Besatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Muhyiddin Yassin to reveal the number of Umno members who joined Bersatu.

Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi said when Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin formed Bersatu, it showed that the pair was not loyal to the Umno struggle.

“This is why Umno members remained in Umno. Only those who are disappointed will join them,” Puad is quoted as saying by Umno Online.

He also criticised Muhyiddin for claiming that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak demanded blind allegiance from Umno members.

Puad also fired a sarcastic salvo with regard to the former Umno deputy president’s new political allies.

“Back then, Muhyddin was bold enough to state ‘I am Malay first’. Now everything has changed.

“The most appropriate slogan for him now is ‘I am Lim Kit Siang first’ because Kit Siang is the de facto leader of the opposition who engineers everything,” he added.

The Umno general assembly last week witnessed guns being trained on the predominantly Chinese-based opposition party, with even Najib describing the next general election as a choice between Umno and DAP-led governments.

Lim and other DAP leaders denied this, arguing that DAP does not call the shots in Pakatan Harapan.