Ismail, who is an Umno vice-president, said the people would be watching them throughout the campaign period and any bickering among leaders could give rise to speculation on the candidates and the party.

Ismail said this when asked to comment on the “heated” exchanges between BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and BN candidate for the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat Khairy Jamaluddin regarding the decision to field the health minister in the constituency.

Ismail said the main focus of the party and its leaders now should be to work for a victory for all BN candidates so that the coalition could win enough seats to form the federal government.

“Doesn’t matter who it is in Umno and BN — we must focus on achieving victory.

“I hope we (can) set aside other matters because it is important to show solidarity in Umno and BN.

“In whatever we do, we should give priority to preserving the good name of the party and increasing people’s confidence in the party so that we will win and become the dominant party (after GE15),” Ismail said after attending a programme with the people in Kampung Batu Papan here.