Malaysia: Umno to contest all seats won in GE14, says Zahid

• UMNO will contest in all seats it won in the last general election, including those won by candidates who have jumped to Bersatu, said Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
• The Umno president said it was determined to retain all the seats the party won in the 15th general election and the decision was endorsed by its Supreme Council.
• “Even if the winner has left (the party), it is Umno’s seat to be contested. We must recapture those seats,” Zahid said during his opening speech at the Bagan Datuk Umno division meeting.
• Among the notable seats Umno won in the past election but lost when the lawmakers jumped over to Bersatu include Jeli (Mustapa Mohamad), Larut (Hamzah Zainuddin), Masjid Tanah (Mas Ermieyati Samsudin) and Tasek Gelugor (Shabudin Yahya).
• Zahid told delegates Umno and other parties in BN will not join the newly registered Perikatan Nasional coalition despite rumours that it would.
• The former deputy prime minister also said in the next general election Umno and other parties in BN will use the BN logo, which it had traditionally used, and not the new PN logo.
• The Bagan Datuk MP added Umno has been taken for granted in the PN government and despite the party contributing the most seats the party has been sidelined.
• “Umno has been asked to be grateful and thankful to be invited to be a part of the government. But the question is with the support of the 43 BN-Umno MPs, who is the one that needs to be grateful?” Zahid asked.
• He also took a veiled jab at PAS urging the Islamist party to continue the Muafakat Nasional charter, signed with Umno, instead of siding PN.
• “It is still not too late for them to return to where we began. We have watched their every move and read their media statements; we know what is happening. I asked them to hold out for a bit. Do not dance to the tune that has been played now,” Zahid said, alluding to PAS.
• Earlier, Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan urged Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to call for elections soon and not use the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse, as the vaccines will be rolled out from Feb 21.
• Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reported that Pulai Umno in Johor became the first division in the country to pass a resolution asking party leaders to quit the PN government immediately to force a general election.
• Its head, Nur Jazlan Mohamed, said delegates at the annual general meeting on 1 Jan 21 had unanimously decided it would be in the best interest of Umno and its reputation to leave the ruling coalition before the party is also blamed for the failure of PN to govern properly.

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