No bad blood between me and Ahmad Zahid, says Ismail Sabri

Ismail Sabri, who is an UMNO vice-president, said such claims were merely an attempt to cause friction between them, which he added would only benefit those creating the rumours, especially with the 15th general election (GE15) around the corner.

"I can guarantee there are no issues between me and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Those are just wild rumours out there.

"This is because when we are divided, they (political adversaries) are the ones to gain," he said while citing the Malay proverb 'antan sama antan berlaga, ayam ditepi kekenyangan' to describe the situation of how playing devil's advocate benefits the instigating party.

"And that is why we must unite and let them be the ones who lose out," he said.

Ismail Sabri said this while launching the 'Solidariti Kestabilan dan Kemakmuran BN' programme held at the Bagan Datuk UMNO Complex here today that was attended by UMNO and component party leaders as well as members of the local community.

The prime minister said when such unfounded and malicious claims surface, he and Ahmad Zahid, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, would hold discussions on how to stop or deflect them.

Therefore, it was important for BN to continue to work in solidarity to ward off such attacks, especially by the Opposition, Ismail Sabri added.