Several Umno members are rooting for a reconciliation meeting between party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his predecessor Dr Mahathir Mohamad to patch up their differences.

syed ali al habshee Leading the call is Cheras Umno division chief Syed Ali Al Habshee ( photo ) who suggested today that Abdullah lead an Umno supreme council delegation to meet up with Mahathir to resolve their bickering

According to a Bernama report, he said it was pointless to go on accusing each other in the media as this would only lead to destruction of the party.

And in Malacca, Umno veteran Abdul Aziz Tapa said that the council of former elected representatives, Mubarak, should help in the mediation effort to stop the hurling of accusations.

Both Abdullah and Mahathir had a private meeting on Oct 22, 2006 following a similar spat.

In Kuala Lumpur, Syed Ali said that Dr Mahathir, as a former leader and a party veteran, had expressed his opinion on what was happening in Umno now and what should be done to rebuild the party.

"I believe Mahathir has no intention at all to destroy Umno when he hurled criticisms at the party leadership as they are meant to rectify weaknesses in the party," he said.

Syed Ali said the meeting between Abdullah and Mahathir should be held soon as allowing the spat to prolong would only worsen the situation and eventually destroy the party.

‘Don’t help the enemies’

mahathir abdullah ahmad badawi pak lah raising tensions Mahathir’s attacks on Abdullah intensified after the general election with the former premier blaming the latter for BN’s heavy loss.

At the election, BN failed to retain its two-thirds majority in the Parliament and lost Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor to the opposition. BN also failed to recapture Kelantan.

Mahathir had said that Abdullah should take responsibility for the humiliating defeat and step down.

Meanwhile Abdul Aziz said Mahathir should stop his accusations as they would only benefit “the enemies of Umno”.

Abdul Aziz said the general election was held a month ago but Umno members were still blaming one another for the dismal performance of the BN.

"By right, we should be working together to seek ways to strengthen the party," he said.