Zahid: Age of Umno dominance is over, party must work to win every seat contested in state polls

KUALA LUMPUR, June 7 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that he has reminded party members to accept that Umno is no longer the dominant political force it once was in Malaysia.

Speaking to reporters after his first briefing in front of more than 3,000 delegates drawn from the party’s wings at the Umno general assembly 2023 today, he said that the party must be prepared to do the groundwork and capitalise on every opportunity that presents itself during the state elections.

“We are in the era of the unity government, and we are part of the unity government. We are not dominant, and we must recognise this fact.

“Therefore, the six state elections necessitate our hard work. We should win. There is no use feeling strongly about it when the actual result is disappointing,” he said.

Breaking down the party’s abysmal performance in the last general election, Ahmad Zahid said that 23 per cent of the vote went to Umno, while the number of parliamentary seats secured was only 11 per cent.

“We lost twice — in the 14th and 15th general elections. We must rise again. We must rectify our weaknesses,” he added.

During the last general election, which took place in November, Umno won 26 federal seats, with Barisan Nasional (BN) winning 30 seats out of the 191 contested.

Despite the drubbing, Umno and BN managed to be part of the federal government after it decided to work with Pakatan Harapan (PH), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), and other parties like Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan), and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) to form the federal administration led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Previously, Umno confirmed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and 19 other leaders of the government had been invited to the Umno annual general meeting (AGM) 2023, which takes place from June 7 to 10.

Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the group would be guests-of-honour at the main gathering on June 9 but won’t be addressing party delegates.