Zahid warns of insiders trying to split Umno

He calls for civility in expressing differences of opinion.

PETALING JAYA: Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has told Umno members to be wary of attempts to split their party from within.

Speaking at the opening of the Bayan Baru Umno divisional meeting yesterday, Zahid said it was easier for insiders than outsiders to cause division within the party. His speech was reported by Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia.

“The current reality is that there are efforts from among us to cause this split,” he was reported as saying.

Zahid appeared to relate such efforts to differences of opinion on current issues. He said Umno was tolerant of such differences, but he urged members to express them with civility.

He spoke of the courteousness with which Islamic scholars traditionally expressed their differences with one another and told party members to emulate them.

He also warned Umno members against being too ready to believe what they read in social media.