The party-hopping by Umno leaders has not affected it but has in fact strengthened the party further.

Kedah liaison committee chairperson Jamil Khir Baharom said the current situation was a cleansing process for the party as it would be left with only the members who were truly loyal to Umno’s struggles.

“For us in Kedah Umno, we see this as a cleansing process for Umno,” he said, adding that he had been in contact with the Langkawi Umno division head, Nawawi Ahmad, and the division was still strong.

Jamil Khir was speaking to reporters after visiting the family of Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim, 24, the fireman who died recently after he was believed to have been assaulted in the riots at the Sri Maha Mariamman, Subang Jaya, last month, at their home in Kampung Tebengau near here today.

Yesterday, former Ayer Hangat state assemblyperson Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid and 30 Umno members at the branch and division members on the island announced that they were quitting the party.

Jamil Khir, who was formerly minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said there was no question of dissolving the Umno branch as rumoured on the social media.

Commenting on the call by the public for the resignation of Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for unity , Senator P Waytha Moorthy, Jamil Khir said the government must strengthen racial unity by immediately resolving issues that arose after what happened to Muhammad Adib.

"...If action is not quickly taken, it will affect Muhammad Adib’s family and erode unity. The people are looking at us and we have to prove ourselves through action and not just talk,” he said.

- Bernama