Amid the exodus of leaders from the party, Umno will conduct a review of its membership roll, according to its secretary-general Annuar Musa.

"This process has been requested by our grassroots members. They feel that this review process is necessary.

"There are members whose statuses are questionable," he said, adding that it has been several years since the last review was conducted.

Among others, Annuar noted, the review will enable the names of members who have passed away or requested to quit to be struck off the list.

He also said that show-cause letters could be issued to members who have made statements against Umno but have yet to formally indicate their intention to leave the party.

Annuar revealed that at present, Umno has 3,696,383 registered ordinary members, and added that he expects the review process to be completed by the end of the year.

Asked about the number he expects will be struck off the list, Annuar said he does not have an estimate but stressed that Umno would focus on the quality of its members.

Moving forward, Annuar said Umno will also look to strengthen the role of its existing associate members, as well as seek opportunities to cooperate with new groups that support its views.

"Aside from maintaining our current policies, we want to have more associate members either from political parties or civil society groups.

"Strengthening Umno through increasing the role of our associate members will be one of the strategies to be explored after the upcoming annual general assembly," he said.

Annuar was joined today by a delegation from the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) – an Umno associate member since 2010 – led by its president Syed Ibrahim Kader.