FORMER prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says he has begun noticing the recent bad blood between unity government partners, particularly DAP and Umno.

Using the analogy of a marriage, Ismail said both parties involved in a marriage or partnership must love one another.

“If it’s a forced marriage, it won’t last long. If you force this sort of marriage, where there is no love between one another, cracks will be seen pretty soon and this can lead to a divorce.

“Right now, it’s the beginning. But let’s just wait and see. I don’t want to comment on this too much.

“DAP has been making several comments against Umno. Umno’s Supreme Council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed has been openly making comments against Lim Kit Siang,” Ismail said.

On Saturday, Nur Jazlan claimed DAP was a liability for Umno in gaining Malay support.

He said Umno was “sincere in making this unity government a success” and had thus tried to avoid voicing its opinions on matters of support.

“But when we stay quiet, DAP is the one which makes these kind of statements,” he said in a rebuke to Perak DAP vice-chairman Abdul Aziz Bari, who recently said Malay support had shifted from Umno to Perikatan Nasional (PN).

Aziz said the results of the last general election saw PN gain serious ground over the once-dominant Umno. He said Umno was now in survival mode, relying on Pakatan Harapan (PH) for positions to stay in power.