UMNO cannot afford to get too comfortable after four Bersatu lawmakers MPs pledged their support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim as they were from constituencies previously held by the party, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

The Umno president said the four Bersatu MPs had emerged victorious in the general election (GE) in constituencies formerly held by Barisan Nasional (BN).

“They are MPs of constituencies that were once BN strongholds. Our candidates in the GE could not secure enough votes, leaving us in the runner-up position,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

Zahid, who is also a deputy prime minister, said it was more important for BN to wrest the seats back in the next GE.

“Umno and BN will carefully evaluate this latest development, despite it being favourable for the government. However, our stance is that those seats (won by Bersatu) must return to Umno one day,” he said.

“If this new political development is good, then it will serve as a foundation for us to move forward.”

Jeli MP Zahari Kechik, Gua Musang MP Azizi Abu Naim, Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman and Kuala Kangsar MP Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid declared their support for the unity government in a bid to secure allocations for their constituencies. All four have said they remain loyal to Bersatu.

However, Bersatu has suspended Iskandar Dzulkarnian and Suhaili for four and six years, respectively.

On Thursday, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said it would lodge reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission as there was evidence suggesting that the four were either threatened or offered development allocations in exchange for their support. – November 11, 2023.