Without mentioning the specific reason behind his resignation, Muqharabbin claimed that Umno no longer practised democracy, Berita Harian reported.

“I want to thank my comrades in Umno who have been with me in this struggle from 2018 until now. We will remain friends forever. All the best,” he said.

Muqharabbin also resigned as the Lembah Pantai Umno Youth chief.

The Umno man is believed to have been referring to the sackings and suspensions of several prominent party leaders yesterday.

Last night, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan announced that former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and ex-Tanjong Karang MP Noh Omar had been sacked.

Meanwhile, Sembrong MP Hishammuddin Hussein, former information chief Shahril Hamdan, ex-Jempol MP Salim Sharif, and Tebrau Umno leader Maulizan Bujang were suspended for six years.

During campaigning for the 15th general election (GE15), Muqharabbin had urged Barisan Nasional (BN) to make Khairy the poster boy for the deputy prime minister’s post allocated for Peninsular Malaysia.

He said this could help BN cruise to a big win at the Nov 19 polls, adding that the former health minister was well-received by Malaysians as a whole.

BN had its worst electoral outing in GE15, winning only 30 seats, of which Umno won 26.