KUALA LUMPUR: All former Umno presidents except for Tun Abdul Razak ended up outside the party, yet support from the grassroots continued to be strong, said Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib.

'(Founder) Datuk Onn (Jaafar) left to start Parti Negara but the Malays stayed (with Umno). Tunku Abdul Rahman, (and) Tun Hussein (Onn) were not in Umno when they died.

'The irony is that Umno members remained (each time a former leader quit the party) and continued to support the leadership at that time,' he said.

Tun Abdul Razak was Umno president and Prime Minister when he died.

However, Muhammad said it was unprecedented for a former party leader to ask for the removal of the present leader.

Muhammad urged party members to stay in the party and make it stronger.

'We hope they will remain calm and not resort to actions that will weaken the party. What is important is for the party to remain intact,' he said.