Former Finance Minister II Johari Abdul Ghani said he made clear to Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah that the party must close ranks after the Umno election, regardless of the outcome.
Johari, who was present when Tengku Razaleigh announced he was challenging Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for the Umno presidency, said Tengku Razaleigh had also given his commitment on the matter.
"What I want to emphasise is this party contest is a contest between siblings and Ku Li has given that commitment," said Johari, using Tengku Razaleigh's nickname.
"I made it very clear to him that if we are contesting - we offer ourselves, then in the event of any outcome of this contest, we must be together as a party. That is the spirit we want," he added when approached by journalists after Ku Li's announcement.
Johari said Umno, the anchor of BN which lost federal power in the May 9 general election, cannot afford more factionalism.
"Most importantly is that we do not have camps... Whoever wins will lead the party and those who are defeated will support them.
"But if we are going to create (rival) camps - I don't think Umno can afford to fo this anymore. Umno can no longer practice the concept where the victors lead the party and the losers quit.
"Don't split the party. Umno can't afford to split the party. We need more people to contribute to the betterment of the party," he said.
Johari also downplayed his presence at Tengku Razaleigh's announcement as an endorsement of his candidacy.
"This (announcement venue) is my area. They invited me and as the area's division chief, I came," he said.
Tengku Razaleigh's residence is located along Jalan Langgak Golf in Kuala Lumpur.
Johari is the Titiwangsa Umno division chief and will be vying for a vice president post in the Umno election.
The election for the Umno wings will take place on June 23 while the supreme council contest will happen on June 30.
On a separate matter, Johari refused to criticise the new Pakatan Harapan government when asked about its handling of the country's debt, giving a diplomatic response.
"Every government would have their own priorities. If it were the BN government, the priorities may be different and the current government may also have different priorities.
"What we need is to give respect to every government. In the past, the people also respected what we wanted to do.
"The people have decided and we have to give them (new government) time to prove that they can do a good job," he said. -Mkini
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