UMNO is split into five factions, said party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, as members differed on the direction the party should take post-May 9
 
The number of factions were equal to the number of opinions on which alliances Umno should forge to rebuild and to remain relevant following the crushing defeat in GE14.
 
Of the five, Zahid said the faction that had the most support at a recent party retreat was the one that advocated for Umno not to strike up any alliance at all but to rebuild itself as a strong opposition party.

“They said no outright to any form of cooperation with the DAP,” Zahid said.

The four other views are that the party should merge with a component of the Pakatan Harapan federal government; it should collaborate with a PH party that works with the DAP; it should merge with PAS; and it should establish a new alliance without PH.

Barisan Nasional secretary-general Nazri Aziz recently revealed that Unmo’s top leadership had approached the PH government to discuss the possibility of cooperation.

In a meeting with PH chairman Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the latter had demanded that Umno be dissolved and its members join Bersatu, a PH component party.

Nazri said the leadership had since embarked on the alternative plan to approach PKR president Anwar Ibrahim, who is slated to take over the helm from Dr Mahathir in one and a half years.

Nazri said in discussions with Anwar, Umno had proposed working with PKR but Anwar had declined to commit to the proposal. – December 18, 2018.