KUALA LUMPUR: Umno members - including those who support Perikatan Nasional - must close ranks as the government cannot be defended, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

       The Umno vice president said that the party's decision to withdraw its support for the Prime Minister and Perikatan has its risks and challenges, but added that the party should face it together.

       "So, Umno must be reunited. To all Umno MPs who are in Perikatan, the space and places within the party is still there," he said in a posting today (Aug 15).

       He reminded that Perikatan was just a space for Umno to contribute to the people and the country.

       "We supported them when there was of clear benefit to the people and the country We must challenge it when it fails and is no longer heading in the right direction," he said.

       Umno, he added, was not formed only for today but it must look forward to the future.

       "Based on that, Insya-Allah, Umno will leave behind this episode to chart new directions that are far more important," he said.

       The party's main priority is to give its touch to the solution to the national crisis and Umno's success in the next general election, added Mohamed