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KUALA LUMPUR - A plan by Malaysia's ruling UMNO to mend strained ties between Premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and predecessor Mahathir Mohamad has sparked controversy within the party, a report said Monday.
Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin said last Friday the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), which is led by Abdullah, was working to bring the two together to patch up their differences.
At the weekend, The Star newspaper reported that veteran politician Mohamad Khalil Yaakob, a former minister under Mahathir, would serve as mediator.
But a senior UMNO leader shot down the idea, questioning the need for intervention by an outside party.
"Both leaders are just having a difference in opinion, which I personally feel does not warrant the involvement of a third party," Mahdzir Khalid, chief minister of northern Perak state, was quoted Monday as saying by The Star.
"Why do we need a third party to act as a champion?"
Mahathir has bitterly attacked Abdullah in recent weeks, criticising his policy decisions and even expressing regret that he had chosen Abdullah to take over from him in 2003, saying he had been "stabbed in the back".
The public rebukes have left members of the UMNO reeling, raising fears of a party rift and growing political instability.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, who also serves as UMNO deputy president, said Zainuddin would be hauled in to explain his mediation proposal.
But UMNO vice president Muhyiddin Yassin backed the plan, saying Khalil could help resolve the dispute and head off any negative repercussions for the party.
"He can get the two sides to sit together in the spirit of family and to express their views openly and without reservations," he said.
Another UMNO veteran, Ahmad Rithaudeen, said the idea should be given a try, saying Mohamad Khalil was a "suitable" person to sort out the dispute.
One senior cabinet minister, Nazri Aziz, last week accused Mahathir of trying to bring down the government and destroy UMNO, which has headed the ruling coalition for half a century.
Mahathir began his attack on Abdullah's administration in May after it scrapped a project to build a bridge to Singapore due to the city-state's opposition.
But analysts have said that Abdullah's position remains intact with the economy on track and the next election not due until 2009. - AFP/ir
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