ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – There are growing calls within United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) for Zahid Hamidi to resign as party president while taking the responsibility for its disastrous showing at the state elections.
Former Terengganu chief minister Idris Jusoh, leading the pack, said UMNO was wiped out in all seats across the state.
“UMNO lost 100 per cent (of seats) in Terengganu. Ahmad Zahid should resign,” he posted on Facebook on Sunday.
Former law minister Zaid Ibrahim also said UMNO’s dismal electoral performance reflects Dr Zahid’s unpopularity as president and also members’ rejection of the cooperation with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his coalition partner, the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition and Barisan Nasional (BN), of which UMNO is the lynchpin party, are now allies in Malaysia’s so-called unity government.
“Why is that so? It’s a long story… For now, suffice for me to say that the country perhaps is ready to think about workable alternatives to the political alliances we currently have,” said Zaid.
In last Saturday’s poll, UMNO failed to defend the 10 state seats it won in Terengganu in 2018, including seats held by former chief ministers, Ahmad Said and Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman.
While UMNO lost all seats in Terengganu, it won only one in Kelantan, two in Penang, two in Selangor, and 14 in Negeri Sembilan.
Federal Territories UMNO youth chief Aliff Firdaus said Dr Zahid should take responsibility for the party’s poor performance in the six state elections.
He said there should be an election for the party president and deputy president posts, as the two top positions were won uncontested in the party polls in 2023.