MUAR - SEVERAL Umno branch and divisional leaders here want Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to resign over the keris issue, which they said had adversely affected Barisan Nasional in the recent general election.

Muar's branch leader Datuk Kadar Shah Tun Sulaiman Ninam Shah said about 90 branch and 25 divisional leaders made the call for Datuk Seri Hishammuddin's resignation.

To admit the mistake was not good enough, he said, if the Umno Youth chief did not take responsibility and resign from all party and government posts.

He said branch and division committee members, including former Sungai Balang assemblyman Zakariah Mahadi, wanted Datuk Seri Hishammuddin to resign from all party and government posts.

Last Friday, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin apologised for wielding the keris at Umno meetings, acknowledging that it had upset minority racial communities who later punished the government at elections held last month.

He has for the past several years opened the Umno annual assembly by unsheathing and kissing the traditional Malay dagger, a symbol of the party.

Non-Malay communities, especially the Chinese, were uncomfortable with the gesture, seeing the keris as a symbol of Malay chauvinism and a reminder of deadly race riots in 1969.

Within Umno itself, opinion is divided over Datuk Seri Hishammuddin's apology.

Some supported the move, saying that it showed the Umno Youth head is a responsible national leader who has set a good example, while others felt he should not have apologised.

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, for instance, felt the wielding of the keris showed that Datuk Seri Hishammuddin would champion the Malay cause and defend the country.

'Datuk Seri Hishammuddin's intention was noble, that is to champion the cause of the race and country and I understand that it was not intended at threatening the non-Malays,' said Tan Sri Muhyiddin.

'However, the opposition had manipulated the issue for ulterior motive.'

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS, BERNAMA