The poison-pen letter claiming that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has asked Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to step down as Prime Minister is a pathetic move to shake and destabilise UMNO which had grown stronger than ever, said UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the move made to write and spread the letter proved that certain quarters, especially UMNO haters, were worried about the strong solidarity among UMNO leaders and members.

"UMNO has grown stronger and solid now because those who are not loyal to the party had quit and formed another party. When they quit, there are no more wolves in sheep's clothing in UMNO. Now UMNO is left only with members who are 100 per cent loyal to Datuk Seri Najib, strongly united because we now only has one team."

He said this after presenting schooling aid 2017 to 6,500 students in Bera constituency, as well as excellence awards to those who excelled in their Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) 2016, here today.

Ismail Sabri also expressed confidence that UMNO members would not fall for such allegation in a poison-pen letter as they were wise enough to know and to reject information that was detrimental to UMNO's solidarity.

In SINTOK, another UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the poison-pen letter which clearly aimed at creating tension between Ahmad Zahid and Najib would not be able to shake, let alone to destabilise the party.

He said this was because it was not the first time UMNO faced this kind of challenges.

"I hope those responsible of writing the poison-pen letter will repent immediately. May Allah forgive their sins," he said after opening the seminar to discuss the National Security Council Act for universal harmony here today.

The poison-pen letter with the falsified signature of Ahmad Zahid went viral over the social media recently.

The letter contained, among others, a demand for Najib's immediate resignation from the government.

However, too many errors were found in the letter, including in the format, letter head and the positions of leaders mentioned. - BERNAMA