Umno AGM | Pahang MB says bigger victory awaits if it works with PN; Khaled praises Chinese for unity

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, the president of Umno, has stated that the party's removal from the unity government would necessitate a new mandate to decide the country's next administration. In his concluding remarks at the Umno general assembly, he suggested there would be only two courses of action: either conduct a general election to secure a new mandate, or formally expel the party and hold a vote of no confidence in the Dewan Rakyat.

Zahid made these comments while addressing the attendees, who were responding with chants of "Bubar!" - meaning "dissolve" in Malay. The original 112-seat foundation of the unity government included 82 seats held by Pakatan Harapan and 30 by Barisan Nasional (BN), before additional parties joined. He also noted that three PKR lawmakers - Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and Wong Chen - had since defected from the party.

Earlier, Zahid had criticized PKR loyalists, referred to as "Ceplos" by Rafizi, who have urged Umno to depart from the unity government, challenging them to act on their claims. He emphasized that the Malaysian unity government exists because of Umno's backing and that the Prime Minister assumed office due to Umno's support. Zahid challenged his opponents to "throw us out quickly" if they are willing to do so.

He also questioned the term "Madani government", asserting that the agreement for the administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should refer to it as the 'unity government'. After his speech, Zahid called for the 16th general election to be held as soon as possible, urging the Barisan Nasional not to wait until the last moment to request a fresh mandate from voters. He concluded that this would be the final general assembly before the election.