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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's ruling party on Tuesday moved to contain the damage from former premier Mahathir Mohamad's shock resignation, which it fears may trigger an exodus that could unseat the government.
Mahathir on Monday urged other members of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to follow his lead by quitting the party to force the resignation of his successor, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
At an emergency meeting, UMNO lawmakers pledged their allegiance to Abdullah, who has faced mounting calls to take responsibility for March elections that produced the worst results in the party's history.
"Nobody has the right to use this dirty tactic to bring down a leader who was democratically elected. That is blackmailing the party," cabinet minister Nazri Aziz told reporters.
Nazri said the challenge was a "test of faith" for UMNO lawmakers and that none were planning to abandon the party which has dominated Malaysian politics since independence half a century ago.
"For those who see this party as being frail, I can say that this situation will strengthen our resolve," he said.
Senior voices in the party have urged Mahathir and Abdullah, who fell out soon after the succession took place in 2003, to meet and resolve their row which threatens to destroy the party.
"That should be the best, although it's rather... late," said Foreign Minister Rais Yatim in Singapore on Monday.
"The next few weeks would be crucial on how many would follow his footsteps. There is this need now... to act systematically so that UMNO will not disintegrate," he said.
"I wish to say that for those who just want to say that it's okay, business as usual – those shouldn't be the words."
Top UMNO members and political commentators have warned that if the beleaguered party suffers mass resignations, Abdullah will be forced to call fresh elections.
With the opposition in control of five states and a third of parliamentary seats after the March 8 polls, and now claiming it has the support of enough defectors to seize power shortly, that is considered a high-risk strategy.
"Fresh general elections will only be held if there are huge crossovers to the opposition," Nazri said.
Opposition figurehead Anwar Ibrahim, who was sacked by Mahathir in 1998 and subsequently jailed on corruption and sex changes, seized on the disarray within UMNO to pronounce that it was in its death throes.
"Mahathir's decision to leave UMNO is indicative of UMNO's worsening crisis, where leaders continue to bicker and fight, while the welfare of ordinary Malaysians are increasingly neglected," he said in a statement.
"The internal problems of UMNO are clearly deteriorating beyond any hope of recovery," he said, inviting the disaffected to join his opposition alliance.
- AFP/so
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