UMNO’S Shahril Hamdan has urged Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to step down following the party’s disastrous performance in the general election (GE15).  
 
Shahril said Zahid should own up for BN’s abysmal results in GE15 and step down gracefully.  
 
“Without diminishing respect for him as an individual, I am of the view that the Umno president and BN chairman (Zahid) needs to set an example by leading the process of taking responsibility for this defeat and withdrawing honourably,” Shahril said in a statement today.  
 
His statement came after several other Umno leaders, including Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi, urged Zahid to resign. 
 
Onn Hafiz said it was clear the Malays had rejected Umno.  
 
“Umno has fallen. Umno and Barisan Nasional won only nine parliamentary seats in Johor while we did not win a single parliamentary seat in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Malacca, Kelantan, and Terengganu.   
 
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow; Umno leaders, including myself, have to listen to the people who spoke through their votes yesterday,” he said on Facebook. 
 
Shahril, who also announced that he was stepping down as Umno information chief, said party leaders could discuss the next course of action if Zahid resigns. 
 
“Umno needs to consider the next step in a situation where no party has attained the figure of 112 in GE15. 
 
“True, this decision is big and needs to be made by the Supreme Council, not just any individual or group. 

“Let the leadership and other individuals lead the discussion to make the next big decision for this party,” he said.  
 
In GE15, BN component parties also lost many credible leaders who were felled in the polls. 
 
Pakatan Harapan (PH) won 76 seats, while its coalition member Sarawak DAP garnered five seats and Muda one, for a total of 82 seats.   
 
Perikatan Nasional (PN) and PAS won 51 and 22 seats, respectively, for a combined total of 73 seats.   
 
BN won 30, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (22), Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (six), Warisan (3), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (1) and two for the independents. – November 20, 2022.