UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has announced that the party is targeting to contest all parliamentary seats currently held by PAS and Bersatu in the upcoming 16th General Election (GE16).
He expressed confidence that UMNO could reclaim these constituencies if given the opportunity to field candidates, thereby strengthening the party’s position.
As part of its preparations, UMNO will conduct detailed assessments and surveys of all these constituencies before finalising its candidates.
“If we cooperate with PAS and Bersatu, and UMNO only holds 26 seats, then what seats are they going to give us to contest? Clearly, none,” he said.
“God willing, we will focus on specific areas currently held by PAS and Bersatu. With comprehensive surveys and research, UMNO candidates can win them back in the next election,” Zahid stated during the opening of the Sri Gading UMNO Division delegates meeting today.
Also present were Johor UMNO Liaison Chairman and Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi, as well as Sri Gading Division Chief Lassim Burhan.
Zahid emphasized that the current political landscape differs significantly, with UMNO now relying on support from its allies in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition to secure electoral victories.
He noted that UMNO currently holds only 26 parliamentary seats, while the rest are held by other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties. Should BN choose to contest against PAS and Bersatu independently, the coalition stands to lose out.
Thus, he stressed the importance of political cooperation between BN and PH, while cautioning against being misled by the “UMDAP” narrative — a derogatory label used by critics to describe a supposed alliance between UMNO and the DAP.
“There is no such thing as UMDAP. Our cooperation is between BN and PH. BN includes MCA and MIC, while PH consists of Amanah, DAP, and PKR.”
“This is a BN-PH partnership, not a direct alliance between UMNO and DAP. Do not fall for the opposition’s propaganda — their aim is to divide BN and PH so they can once again form a backdoor government,” he warned.
