Cheras Umno chief Syed Ali Alhabshee today hit out at the social media, stating that he smells a rat in its critical reports on Umno.

He said the media was putting Umno under the microscope over its alleged leadership crisis, but sparing the opposition, which he claimed is worse off, the same treatement.

"Why is the media, especially social media, focusing on Umno and its alleged crisis, while opposition (parties), which squabble over electoral seats among themselves, are ignored?" he asked in his blog post.

The veteran party man opined that he smells a rat, accusing certain quarters of having a clear agenda to destroy Umno.

"Certain parties, especially the opposition and anti-estblishment factions, want to destroy our political and economic stability. They are (doing it by targeting) the Najib's administration,” he said.

Syed Ali strongly denies that Umno is facing a serious leadership crisis, saying such accusations are untrue.

He contended that all political parties, including the opposition, cannot run away from having to deal with dissatified members as it is impossible to please everyone.

"It is a lie to say that political parties do not face problems; how such problems are solved should really be the focus," he said.

Differences in a political party are something "normal", said Syed Ali, adding that the same can be observed in the opposition parties.

Umno became the focus of media reports after party president Najib Abdul Razak purged the government and the party of those critical of his leadership.

But instead of silencing the critics, it created more waves as party stalwarts, grassroots leaders and veterans continue to call Najib to account for his handling of the 1MDB and RM2.6 billion 'donation' scandals.

This sparked a counter-attack from Najib loyalists who criticised the dissenters through press statements and conferences.