He said Umno could do nothing to stop those who had made up their mind to leave the party for Pakatan Harapan.

Those who wanted to move from one party to another had the right to do so. “If they feel the struggle of Umno is no longer relevant to them, they can change their alliance.”

Their continued presence might make it difficult for those who wanted to revamp and strengthen the party, he told FMT.

Johari cited the example of PAS members who remained with the party regardless of its electoral performance. “Come rain or shine they remain with the party because they believe in the ideals of PAS,” he said.

Johari lost his Titiwangsa seat to PPBM’s rookie Rina Harun by 4,139 votes on polling day on May 9.

Pakatan Harapan chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad said this week that the coalition would accept Umno members provided they first resigned from their party and became “independents”.

He said PH component parties were receiving about 1,000 applications a day from people interested in becoming members. Among them were Umno members.

Johari said people who came into politics believed they could contribute to the nation, whether in the government or the opposition.

However, those in the government and the opposition must both respect the law. “Now, if the present government feels the previous government did not follow the rule of law, then they should show the way,” he said.