An Umno Supreme Council member has called on the council to meet on a more regular basis to enable the views of members and Umno grassroots to be heard.

Shahrir Abdul Samad told malaysiakini today when the current council first started its term, it was supposed to meet twice a month and the meetings were to be held in different parts of the country.

"This did not quite happen and I do not blame them for they have work to do," said Shahrir, outspoken Johor Umno leader and former minister who was elected into the 25-member council.

The Supreme Council also has another 10 members appointed by the party president, Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Shahrir said he was not making this an excuse for speaking out to the media.

He was referring to media reports over the weekend in which Umno vice-president Muhammad Muhammad Taib accused Shahrir of "washing dirty linen in public" when the latter said Mahathir was the main cause of Barisan Nasional's defeat in the Lunas by-election last Wednesday.

Right channels

"This is the Umno problem. They are so concerned with procedure and process to the extent that the real issue why Umno has not changed is not brought forth.

"I accept what the Supreme Council members say - that I should use the right channels to voice out my criticisms. Fine, I will use the channels, but for me to use the channels, the meetings must be held more often.

"I know I should not be naive and talk to reporters but I like to talk to people. Of course, there are nuances when I talk to certain people and when I air my views in Umno Supreme Council meetings," said Shahrir.

He was referring to the media reports which also quoted him as saying he had voiced his views in a more subtle manner at an Umno Supreme Council meeting last Friday.

Shahrir said his recent comeback into the council after being out of it for a long while was a demonstration by the delegates to "oppose" Mahathir.

Confused

Meanwhile, when contacted, Muhammad said, "This is an internal matter ( hal rumahtangga ). I have never seen PAS expose their problems to the media. I want to see you ( malaysiakini ) report their (PAS) problems.

"The reason the Chinese voters did not vote for BN was because they were confused. But this does not mean that they do not support us.

"I believe that in the long term, the Chinese will support us. In Lunas, we lost because various issues were distorted by the Opposition," said Muhammad, one of the four elected Umno vice-presidents and a former Mentri Besar of Selangor.