UMNO is preparing for the 15th general election, said president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of his recent meeting with party veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

In a Facebook post accompanied by a photo of the meet, Zahid said the discussions were on readying Umno ahead of the polls.

“Discussing with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Umno’s advisory council chairman, about current issues and the direction to take to strengthen the party for GE15.”

The meeting at Tengku Razaleigh’s residence in Kuala Lumpur, which was confirmed to The Malaysian Insight by a Zahid aide, comes amid speculation of snap polls owing to the Perikatan Nasional government’s razor-thin majority in Parliament, and about two weeks after Zahid met former Umno president Najib Razak to discuss plans for the next elections.

Najib, who is Barisan Nasional advisory council chairman and Pekan MP, faces multiple corruption charges related to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

In his post on the Najib meet, Zahid said Umno is prepared for GE15.

The PN administration led by Muhyiddin Yassin took over Putrajaya in March, having ousted Pakatan Harapan through defections and plotting with Barisan Nasional, PAS and former PKR leaders. It has the backing of Gabungan Parti Sarawak.

PN holds 114 seats of the 222 in the Dewan Rakyat, going by the seating arrangement at the last Parliament meeting on May 18.

However, uncertainty about Muhyiddin’s ability to keep the pact together has increased amid rumours of MPs jumping ship and the opposition’s moves to wrest federal power.

Sri Gading MP Shahruddin Md Salleh, from the prime minister’s party, Bersatu, recently quit as deputy minister, calling his decision to support PN a “mistake”. He has not left either the pact or party, however.

PN gained another MP when Lubok Antu’s Jugah Muyang quit PKR and declared support for Muhyiddin.

PAS, which has partnered with Umno under the Muafakat Nasional banner, has said it is prepared to stay with PN heading into GE15. – June 12, 2020.