PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The sacking of two former Umno ministers has taken a new twist with two of them having received the boot from the party for colluding with the opposition while the other is still under investigation.

Party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said on Saturday (May 5) the memberships of Tun Daim Zainuddin and Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz have been revoked.

"As for Tan Sri Rais Yatim, it is not clear if he has spoken up against the party," he said. "We need to establish if he has colluded with the opposition to derail Barisan Nasional's (BN) victory," he told The Star, referring to the ruling coalition, of which Umno is the dominant party.

Tengku Adnan said this after meeting with a committee from the Umno headquarters that looked into the actions of the trio.

He clarified that investigations were still ongoing for Mr Rais.

Earlier, he said letters were sent to the three senior politicians to strip them off their party membership.

"As the party's secretary-general, I will not tolerate such nonsense. I will take action. I don't care who they are," Tengku Adnan said.

Asked if the decision had the green light from party president and Prime Minister Najib Razak, Tengku Adnan said the clearance was sought "a long time ago and the president knows." "So I just went ahead. As the party's sec-gen, I cannot see the party destroyed."

He said the two were sacked for campaigning for the opposition Pakatan Harapan alliance, which is against the party's constitution and code of ethics.

"They are aware of this and they know what is coming. I feel sad because we have been supporting them all the time before. We believe in the concept of walak (loyalty) which means you listen to your leader," he added.

Tengku Adnan said Umno and the BN had given the trio many opportunities.

"So how can you back-stab us?"

The Star has reached out to the two for comment.