KUALA LUMPUR: Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak today reminded Umno members to be always careful in making statements or stating opinions because this would in a way affect how others would view the party.
Any statement or view expressed by Umno members should not be in conflict with the principles and struggle of the party, said Najib, who is also the Prime Minister.
Speaking to reporters after chairing an Umno Supreme Council (MT) meeting here, he said the statements made would reflect Umno, the MT and the person himself.
"As an example, if we are a Member of Parliament, what we say will have a bearing on how others view our calibre as Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs," he said.
Najib said this when asked to comment on the action of BN MP for Kinabatangan Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin who tweeted 'Well done...Bravo...Long live Hitler..' moments after Germany thrashed hosts Brazil 7-1 in the their World Cup semi-final match on Wednesday.
Bung Mokhtar came under fire from many quarters over the tweet which was deemed distasteful because it hailed Adolf Hitler, Germany's Chancellor during the Second World War in which millions lost their lives.
Najib, however, said Umno did not have specific rules to punish members who issued opinions on social media which were deemed to be in conflict with the party's principles.
He said each Umno member was now aware about this, and they would not casually issue statements or views that were against the party's principles and policies.
"That was why I took an immediate decision to reprimand him (Bung Mokhtar), and he has apologised and withdrawn the statement," he said.
Yesterday, Najib in his Twitter had said the comments by Bung Mokhtar were unacceptable and wrong, and Bung Mokhtar would withdraw the comments.
Meantime, Najib said Umno divisional meetings which will begin on Aug 8 would be extended to Sept 30.
The deadline given earlier for the meetings was Sept 14.
The decision was taken in view of the new dates for the party general assembly which has been set for Nov 25-29. he said.
The orignial dates were from Oct 28 to Nov 1. - Bernama
