Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad said certain parties who were bickering over the coming by-election should be more sensitive to those who are grieving over Sharifah’s passing.

“It is best to refrain from discussing issues concerning the Mahkota seat. Let it be discussed by the Umno Supreme Council,” she said in a statement.

Noraini’s statement comes after Amanah’s Kluang division voiced its intention to field a candidate for the pending by-election, which has yet to be called by the Election Commission.

Johor Umno Youth chief Noor Azleen Ambros accused the Amanah division as being “rash and greedy”, saying their statement was disrespectful and insensitive to the family of Sharifah.

In response, Amanah Youth leader Fadhli Umar Aminolhuda said he would push the party to contest the seat even if it meant standing against Umno, as the Johor government was not a unity government

Sharifah, 63, died in Kluang on Friday while receiving treatment in hospital for internal bleeding. She was admitted to the hospital two days earlier, after experiencing shortness of breath.