Zahid meets Dr Mahathir again, says Umno can’t be opposition forever

Updated 7 years ago · Published on 26 Sep 2018 7:05PM · 18 Comments

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says grassroots members pressed him to meet the prime minister recently. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, September 26, 2018.

UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he met Dr Mahathir Mohamad a second time recently, since Barisan Nasional’s loss of power at the May 9 polls.

He told Berita Harian that the second meeting with the prime minister was held because Umno grassroots members demanded that the party do something to show that it was still relevant as an opposition party waiting to return to federal power.

“Umno is free to hold discussions with anyone, whether they are outside Barisan Nasional, or whether they were once with BN and are no longer with BN.

“As of now, we haven’t made any decision about who we will cooperate with whether in the near term or long term. We need to observe political developments as we don’t want to stay in the opposition,” he told newspapers from the New Straits Times Press (NSTP) group.

Zahid’s first meeting with Dr Mahathir, who chairs the Pakatan Harapan coalition, was on June 7. He did not state when the second meeting was but that it was held together with other Umno leaders.

He said “all political opportunities should be assessed” as politics was dynamic.

Two weekends ago, Zahid and a few Umno leaders attended the opening ceremony of the annual congress of its long-time rival, PAS, in Kuala Terengganu. Both parties have agreed to cooperate with one another in an informal manner on certain issues and have not sealed any official political collaboration.

Another Umno leader who met Dr Mahathir recently was Hishammuddin Hussein, who said the meeting was just to hear the prime minister’s views on the future of the Malays and Malaysia.

These meetings, however, are being held amid speculation that more Umno leaders are planning to leave the party. Two senior leaders who quit Umno recently were former minister Mustapa Mohamed and Anifah Aman.

Zahid also addressed a list that went viral of more than a dozen Umno MPs names said to be quitting the party.

“I do not know about a movement of MPs leaving Umno but I do know that there is a mediator meeting them and promising to take some MPs to become independents,” he said.

Since the 14th general election, the BN lynchpin party has lost five federal lawmakers, leaving it with 49 MPs and making it the second largest party in the Dewan Rakyat after PKR. – September 26, 2018.  

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Comments

  • Can't stand on your own UMNO?

    Posted 7 years ago by Ali Khan · Reply

  • Hope no devil's deals in the making. Cannot trust those who are corrupted and robbed their own kind.

    Posted 7 years ago by Concerned Citizen · Reply

  • No one should be opposition forever. However, umno has only been an opposition party for a few months. So it's way too early for it to say such things. It hasn't even begun to act as opposition.

    Posted 7 years ago by Léon Moch · Reply

  • You make one wonder whether the purpose of politic is to serve the people or to fight for power. DAP as a long time opposition has served the people being a watchful eye on the ruling BN, why can't UMNO?

    Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • 60 years as ruling party but 4 months as Opposition, already started dying. Useless party, useless *ssholes. Untuk Agama, Bangsa dan Negara, eh, my foot.

    Posted 7 years ago by Jackal Way · Reply

    • Haha exactly

      Posted 7 years ago by Al c · Reply

  • UMNO is not wanted even as an opposition. In any role they are simply not good for anyone in Malaysia, especially the Malays who they have conned for the last 60 years.

    Posted 7 years ago by Xuz ZG · Reply

  • Why Zahid, you went over to discuss that fuss you made about Mahathir's IC, was it?

    Posted 7 years ago by Rock Hensem · Reply

  • Dap nad PH are a combination of failures. With the turns tbey are taking, surely we are going to hell.

    Posted 7 years ago by Eh Apa Ada Hal · Reply

  • Its okay Zahid this is a free country where you can bed and sleep with anyone you like just like and soon dumno would be prostituted from any which way people wants it.

    Posted 7 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply

  • Why can't Umno be the Opposition forever? Malaysia doesn't belong to Umno. Umno must show to Malaysians your party had revitalise and a clean party. No more a racist and corrupted party!

    Posted 7 years ago by Jordan Lee · Reply

  • We are not that cruel Zahid. Not forever. 100 years ... thats all. If UMNO wants to be the government then you must win over the people ... the true master. No other way. Pandering to kawan2 lama, cari lubang belakang or lubang tepi ... thats not how you win over the people. Its not Mahathir or Anwar or Mat Sabu or Azmin or Zuraida or whoever that can help UMNO. Its all up to the people. Now that we have kicked the governemnt out once and know how it feels, you can bet that we can kick them out again if we choose to

    Posted 7 years ago by NA Bayezid · Reply

  • Firstly learn to be morally upright, secondly return all the stolen money, thirdly ask forgiveness from the rakyat and forthly Go to Hell. Slimy Ponorogo scum wants power so that he can steal somemore. You hv made enough money from Banglas so go suck eggs.

    Posted 7 years ago by Besaman Mucho · Reply

    • Haha they won't be able even to fulfil the first one hahaha

      Posted 7 years ago by Al c · Reply

  • "One donor many donors" zahid is arrogant and expects a free ride into the Government. He should be investigated.

    Posted 7 years ago by Jayachandran menon · Reply

  • Four months in the wilderness feels like forever because UMNO was and still is addicted to money and power. How can UMNO find relevance with its old and narrow "agama dan bangsa" rhetoric instead of championing the cause of all Malaysians?

    Posted 7 years ago by Roger 5201 · Reply

  • Zahid needs to employ the language of persuasion instead of threats because the voters of Malaysia have come to realise that their votes count and there is no such thing as a free ride.

    Posted 7 years ago by Roger 5201 · Reply

  • Then stop all your supremacy and racism , you will be voted back into government. What you are trying to say UMNO must be given to be government no matter who won the election. Go to hell , Go work yourself up again.

    Posted 7 years ago by TC BOY · Reply