The 'lies and distorted facts' disseminated by certain bloggers will not dampen Umno's chances of winning seats in the coming general elections, said party secretary-general Radzi Sheikh Ahmad today.

"No, I don't think so. Umno is strong and getting stronger," he said when asked if these allegations would hurt the chances of the party.

Radzi, who is also home minister, said bloggers had been given "a lot of freedom" under the leadership of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi but this did not give them the right to abuse the freedom granted.

"They should not ridicule religion, or the King...their allegations have no basis at all. It would be good if they could come up with ideas and suggestions for the betterment of the government," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

On Monday, Umno Information chief Muhammad Muhammad Taib lodged a police report against blogsite Malaysia Today for carrying articles deemed to have insulted the King.

The police report also alleged that the blog had insulted Islam as the official religion of the federation and incited hatred among the various races which could affect unity and national security.

Official stand

Asked if the police report could be considered a report lodged by Umno, Radzi said: "Well, he is the information chief and whatever he does officially is the representation of Umno".

Radzi said top Umno leaders had met on several occasions to discuss the 'lies' spread through blogs and a decision was made to lodge a police report to investigate the blogger, Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, of the site.

On another note, Radzi said there was no need for guidelines on the resolutions passed at the party's divisional meetings, which are now underway.

Several Umno divisions had passed resolutions calling for a no contest for the party presidency and deputy presidency during their meetings recently.

"It is still too early (to pass a resolution like that). Umno members are mature, they don't need a set of guidelines for this purpose. The resolutions they pass go by issues and time," he said.

Earlier this year, Umno decided to defer its party polls this year to give importance to the general election, which is widely expected to be held within the next eight months.

Radzi clarified today that according to the party constitution, Umno could defer the party elections for 18 months starting from November 2007.