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From Abdul Muin Abdul Majid

SHARM-EL-SHEIKH (Egypt), May 19 (Bernama) -- Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said he would continue to discuss with Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on efforts to strengthen the party and the issue of Umno's leadership transition, which had been touched on by Abdullah himself.

The Umno deputy president said he hoped all Umno members would remain calm following former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's sudden decision to quit Umno on Monday and urged them to have faith in the current leadership to reform the party.

Najib, who is also the chairman of Umno's management committe, said he had contacted Abdullah himself and several other leaders over the matter.

Speaking to Malaysian journalists covering his attendance at the World Economic Forum for the Middle East here, he said he was shocked and saddened by the decision by Dr Mahathir.

"Tun Dr Mahathir's contributions to Umno and the country are immeasurable," he said.

Dr Mahathir, who joined Umno in 1946, announced the quit decision at a political function in Alor Star.

Dr Mahathir had cited his loss of confidence in the party's current leadership for doing so and said he would only rejoin Umno if Abdullah stepped down.

Najib said he had recently met Dr Mahathir and would was willing to meet him again to discuss this latest action of his.

"Before this, all internal problems in Umno were settled internally and not from outside," he said, stressing that Umno was a sacred party for the Malays and had been in the forefront of their struggle for so long and would continue to do so in future.

Apart from this, he said it was important for the Barisan Nasional (BN), which was led by Umno to discharge its responsibilities according to the mandate given by the people in the recent general election.

"We cannot allow Umno's internal problems to distract us from the task at hand," he said.

Najib said he would proceed to Saudi Arabia to perform the umrah (minor haj) after this meeting as per his schedule although some quarters wanted him to return to Malaysia immediately.

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