KUALA LUMPUR - PRIME Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi rounded up Members of Parliament from his troubled United Malays National Organisation (Umno) for a hastily called meeting yesterday and secured a pledge of loyalty from them.

By the end of yesterday, none had heeded a call by former strongman Mahathir Mohamad to follow his lead and quit the party as a way to force the Prime Minister out of office.

Only Tun Dr Mahathir's wife, former Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Junid and 300 members of an Umno branch in his home state of Kedah said they were quitting too.

Even his son Mukhriz is not quitting. Datuk Mukhriz is staying on as an MP and party official, though he, too, wants Datuk Seri Abdullah to step down.

Today, the Prime Minister is expected to call another meeting - of MPs and ministers from the component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

Senior party men have called for calm, but Datuk Seri Abdullah's swift response was clearly a sign that he was not taking lightly Tun Dr Mahathir's call for mass resignations.

Despite yesterday's display of support, some felt it was too early to predict how Umno's 3.2 million members would respond in the days ahead to the dramatic gambit by the 82-year-old Tun Dr Mahathir.

Johor MP Nurjazlan Mohamed Rahmat thought there was no need to overreact, but added: 'At the moment, MPs will support the PM. Everybody is adopting a wait-and- see attitude.'

He added that he would not be surprised if Tun Dr Mahathir launched a new party 'to get Malays together on a racial platform'.

Said Foreign Minister Rais Yatim: 'The next few weeks will be crucial. There is this need now to act systematically so that Umno will not disintegrate.'

Party vice-president and minister Muhyiddin Yassin described the situation as 'critical' for Umno and added that party members must be careful to ensure Malay solidarity was not affected.

Among those who came out firmly in support of the Prime Minister was Johor MP and minister Shahrir Samad, who said: 'None of us is leaving Umno.'

Some expected action from Sabah, but Sabah lawmaker Abdul Ghapur Salleh said Sabah Umno was solidly behind Datuk Seri Abdullah. 'Nobody is leaving Umno, especially (not) those from Sabah,' he said.

Datuk Mukhriz did not attend yesterday's meeting of MPs, but appeared at a news conference later.

'We have the weakest leader in Umno's history,' said the 44-year-old, who is eyeing Umno Youth's top job in the party's December polls.

He said his father may be disappointed with his decision to remain in the party.

'I understand and agree with the action that my father has taken, due to his love for the party...(but) there are many approaches to meet the objectives. As such...I will not resign from Umno,' he said.

To cheers from his supporters, he added: 'I will be the voice for constructive criticism towards the present leadership.'

Ms Tricia Yeoh, director of the independent Centre for Public Policy Studies, expected minimal impact from Tun Dr Mahathir's 'quit' call, saying Umno MPs would need 'a political incentive' to leave their positions of power.

Not surprisingly, the opposition crowed, with de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim inviting Umno members to join his coalition.

'The internal problems of Umno are clearly deteriorating beyond any hope of recovery,' Datuk Seri Anwar said.

hazlinh@sph.com.sg

Mahathir out to trigger exodus of Umno members