KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today that the party rejected an alliance with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia to prevent "bigger harm".

The Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman also said that the decision to not collaborate with Bersatu in the 15th general election was made collectively as a party and not his alone.

"Bersatu is a party founded to end Umno and BN. What’s the rationale of Umno being pushed and forced to sleep with the enemy under the same blanket?” said Zahid in a Facebook post, referring to a Malay idiom.

He said this in response to the accusation that parting way with Bersatu is an act of dividing the Muslim community, also called the ummah.

Zahid defended Umno's support of the unification of the ummah, with components parties in BN agreeing with the principle that different ethnicities in Malaysia ought to respect one another.

"The ummah unification is even officially included in the Constitution for the sake of religion, race, and country, and harmonised in the idea of a big united people party, BN.

"This is the solid foundation that fostered the stability and prosperity of Malaysia all this time,” said Zahid.

He further accused other parties such as PKR, Bersatu, and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air of breaking up the community in pursuit of their respective agendas.

"Delving into the divisiveness of the ummah needs to be based on facts, it started when certain political parties were founded during the crisis of power grab.

"These parties even cooperated with DAP, which they once called ‘not in line with the Malays’ for their personal ambitions. But Umno has always been Umno and together with BN we are building a coalition that is diverse in race and religion,” he added.

Zahid also attached a photo of Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin standing together with other Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders when the party was part of the pact.

Last month, Zahid accused his one-time ally Muhyiddin of trickery with his "Umno is the main enemy” jibe, warning BN MPs to be wary of the latter's treachery.