Malaysia’s UMNO must come out of ‘echo chamber’, aim to be dominant again, says president Ahmad Zahid

UMNO, which is the oldest political party in Malaysia, lost its 61-year hold on government when it was voted out of power in favour of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition during the 14th General Election in 2018.

The party, which ruled Malaysia as the anchor party of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition since the country’s independence, lost power on the back of widespread public anger over the scandal at state-owned investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The 1MDB scandal subsequently led to the conviction and jailing of former UMNO president and prime minister Najib Razak for corruption. 

UMNO only won 26 seats in the last general election in November 2022, its worst-ever performance at a general election. It won 54 seats in the 2018 elections and 89 in the 2013 elections.

BN is currently in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government with Pakatan Harapan (PH), Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Parti Warisan (Warisan).

UNITY GOVERNMENT PARTNERS NOT INVITED THIS YEAR

At the UMNO Youth wing assembly the day before, Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh also urged delegates to return the party to dominance. 

“We do not want UMNO to remain complacent as a mere ‘supplement’ to the unity government. UMNO needs to reclaim its status as the dominant party in the national political landscape,” he was quoted as saying by local media. 

Meanwhile, its women’s wing chief Noraini Ahmad asserted that the party has dedicated its struggle to the Malay community.

“The fact is, UMNO doesn’t need to prove anything because we embody the Malay struggle itself,” she said.

UMNO did not invite its partners in the unity government for this year’s assembly, with only party members and representatives from the BN component parties invited.

They include the Malaysian Chinese Association, the Malaysian Indian Congress, and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah.

“This time, we want to provide as much space as possible for UMNO’s big family to discuss matters internally. Therefore, no other party leaders will be present this time,” UMNO secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency in the lead-up to the national congress.

The Malay nationalist party’s assembly is on the heels of its victory in the Nenggiri by-election in the Kelantan state legislature on Aug 17. It was its first by-election victory since the 15th General Elections (GE15) in Nov 2022. 

It was also the first time since GE15 that a seat changed hands from one party to another during a by-election.    

The Nenggiri seat was won by BN candidate Mohd Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani, who defeated Perikatan Nasional’s Mohd Rizwadi Ismail by a majority of 3,352 votes.

During the state elections that were held in August last year, Mr Mohd Azizi Abu Naim – then with Bersatu – won the seat with a majority of just 810 votes over the BN candidate at the time.

The by-election was triggered after the Kelantan speaker declared that Mr Mohd Azizi had ceased to be a member of Bersatu after declaring support for Mr Anwar as prime minister, the first time that the country’s anti-party hopping law was triggered.