KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has called on Umno members to not panic amidst the mass defection by several of party’s member of parliaments and state assemblymen.
The embattled Umno president described the crisis, which is beleaguering the party, as temporary and that it will not affect the party’s support at the grassroots level.
“Umno members should not panic.
“Perhaps, this is the price that we have to pay when we want to return to the original struggle of Umno, which is to uphold and empower religion and the nation.
“Although there are quarters who had left Umno, we believed that it will not affect support from the grassroots. This (the crisis) is just temporary,” the Bagan Datuk MP said in his Twitter account.
The former deputy prime minister had also enclosed a picture of him praying in the posting.
Hulu Terengganu MP, Datuk Rosol Wahid and Tanah Merah MP Datuk Seri Ikhmal Hisham Abdul Aziz became the latest Umno leaders to abandon ship after he announced that he too had quit the party.
Also resigning from the party was former Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin.
More Umno MPs had announced their departure from the party.
They are Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad (Mersing), Datuk Shabudin Yahaya (Tasik Gelugor) and Datuk Mohamad Fasiah Mohd Fakeh (Sabak Bernam).
A source told NSTP that they had submitted resignation letters to the party secretary-general Tan Sri Annuar Musa yesterday.