Mat Hasan vows he will not leave Umno

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has conceded that he did speak to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad about defections from Umno.

However, Mohamad said he doesn't plan to quit Umno.

"I will not leave Umno. I will continue to be with Umno," Mohamad told Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

Mahathir had hosted Mohamad and several Umno leaders for a meal on Oct 22.

There have been speculations about what transpired the meeting after a photograph depicting Mahathir and his guests were circulated earlier this week.

This was compounded by the fact that a large number of lawmakers - both at the national and state level - quit Umno this week, many of whom pledging their support for Mahathir.

Mahathir had insisted that Mohamad's main agenda at the meeting was that he expressed a desire to leave Umno and sought the prime minister's advice.

However, Mohamad said many issues were discussed at the meeting, mostly about the Malays and Islam.

"Many things were discussed. We talked about uniting Bersatu and Umno," he said.

"I don't deny that discussion took place. There were many topics, mostly about Malays and Islam."

On merging Umno and Bersatu, Mohamad said there are Malays and Muslims hoping for this outcome.

"It is good if the two parties can merge," he said, while stressing that he disagreed that Umno should be dissolved. - Mkini