KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — UMNO remains relevant despite the perception that it is now akin to a ‘lifeless’ party after its poor electoral showings since 2018, party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.
UMNO, which he said has gone through various challenges throughout its 77 years of existence, still has 26 members of parliament and also four more from other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.
“When we look within, we should not forget history but if we keep digging into history without preparing to move forward, we will end up nowhere. In 23 years, UMNO will be 100 years old, meaning in two more decades, when UMNO is 100 years old, the outline of UMNO’s struggles may have changed.
He said despite being in the current government with only a small contribution of MPs, the party functions better in the Malaysia Madani and Unity government compared to ties with its partners in the previous government.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said this in his mandate in conjunction with UMNO’s 77th anniversary celebrations here tonight. The event was also attended by members of the party’s senior leadership.
Meanwhile, on seat allocation for the state elections to be held in six states this year, Ahmad Zahid, who is BN chairman, said he was leaving it to BN deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan to lead the negotiations with parties in the Unity government.
“We leave it to the wisdom of the UMNO deputy president (Mohamad) for the negotiations,” he said.
The six states where elections are due this year are Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
On the Unity Government National Convention this Sunday, Ahmad Zahid said all 148 MPs backing the current government will be attending the event where Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to deliver an important mandate.
