SEREMBAN, April 3 — Umno leaders have been advised against issuing any statements that could worsen the situation in the party, said its deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

He stressed that this time was a period of calm, and leaders should be smart when issuing statements.

"I urge party leaders not to issue statements that can only worsen the situation. Take a break, please. ‘Tak boleh jadi garam, jangan jadi langau’ (loosely translated as, if can’t make it better, then try not to make it worse). Stop it please.

"Even though there is a lot of fire inside one’s chest, the head must remain cool. As a leader, one must remain cool and level-headed,” he told reporters after the free petrol and get-together with youth programmes as well as the Let’s Register for Covid-19 Vaccine campaign here today.

Meanwhile, Mohamad said that Umno ministers and deputy ministers should meet with the party’s top leadership first to get advice on their position in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

He also described making decisions without seeking advice from the party’s top leadership as a weakness of wisdom.

"We did not even ask ministers to resign on the same day, if he wants to resign, meet the party leadership, or meet me at least, I will first advise on the things to do,” he said.

On March 31, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that all ministers from Umno would continue to remain in the Cabinet, after an agreement was reached following a meeting with them pertaining to their position in the Cabinet.

Commenting on the Umno election, Mohamad said that the decision to expedite the party’s election at this time would lead to a split, and it seemed to hand ‘bullets’ to the opposition party that would cause ‘injuries’ to the party.

"In terms of party management, we have a timeline; we are not saying that we want to wait for 18 months. That’s why we want to see the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held in August,” he said.

Mohamad, who is also Rantau assemblyman, said that Umno would not wait for 18 months to hold the party elections, and its president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said that it could take place by the end of this year.

Asked whether he would defend his position in Umno when the party election was held, Mohamad said that his priority now was to face the GE15.

He also said that the agenda to strengthen the Muafakat Nasional (MN) was still being continued, and wanted the cooperation to remain. — Bernama