He told FMT the party would find it hard to heal the rift unless a date for the transfer of power was announced.

He said the two sides were led by people fearful of facing criminal prosecution, with each side hoping to be spared by the man it was backing.

He noted that none of the defectors from Umno to PPBM had so far been charged with a crime.

A sign of increasing friction in Umno emerged yesterday when former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali said he was quitting his job as chairman of the party’s disciplinary board.

Apandi told FMT he could not tolerate party leaders’ interference in a disciplinary proceeding involving former vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein.

“The leadership can keep their respective posts,” he said. “I shall keep my dignity and integrity.”

Earlier, Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam reacted to a postponement of the disciplinary hearing by accusing the party leadership of protecting Hishammuddin.

The hearing was supposed to have taken place yesterday.

Hishammuddin is accused of breaching Umno’s constitution and its code of ethics and failing to protect its dignity. He is said to have attended a clandestine meeting last month between Umno MPs and PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Kamarul Zaman said he did not expect Apandi to retract his resignation, adding that Umno would be weakened further if his replacement turned out to be a puppet of its leaders.

Commenting on the failure to hold yesterday’s disciplinary hearing, he said there were forces that did not want it to take place.

“There is talk that some Supreme Council members did not turn up after receiving instructions from certain Umno leaders,” he said.

He also said Umno could be reunited only if leaders guilty of breaching the party constitution were punished.