Speaking at the Ledang Umno division meeting Sunday, the foreign minister said he was not swayed by the attempts to pit him against Zahid.

Without naming anyone, he said these attempts were likely meant to undermine the party.

“Some people are trying to drive a wedge between me and the Umno president.

“I just smile because these people cannot be trusted, especially since they’ve also spoken badly about the president.

“I don’t even know what they might be saying behind my back,” he was quoted as saying.

According to Mohamad, being the party’s number two was no easy task, as the role comes with the heavy responsibility of supporting the president.

He said Umno’s focus now must be to serve the people and to champion the interests of race and religion.

“The party must always come first. If we win, we win as one. If we lose, we all go down together as well.

“There will definitely be those who will abandon the party when we lose. So, my only hope is that members will remain loyal to the party,” he said.