KUALA LUMPUR: The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) is still relevant despite the perception that it is now like a “lifeless” party following its poor electoral showings since 2018, said party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Thursday (May 11).
“We see that UMNO seems like it is lifeless. That is the perception of society as a whole.
“But UMNO is still relevant even though our number of members in parliament is only 26 at the moment with four more from BN (Barisan Nasional),” he said at the party’s 77th anniversary celebration.
According to Bernama, Ahmad Zahid – who is also Malaysia’s deputy prime minister – said that UMNO has gone through various challenges throughout its 77 years of existence and that the struggles ahead may change over the years.
“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 two more decades, when UMNO is 100 years old, the outline of UMNO’s struggles may have changed,” he reportedly said.
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.
In his speech on Thursday, Ahmad Zahid noted that UMNO functions better in the current unity government as compared to its ties with partners in the previous government. The previous government comprised Barisan Nasional (BN), of which UMNO is a component party, and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
