Malaysia’s Zahid seeks early polls as Umno plots return to power

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia’s United Malays National Organisation (Umno) has called for immediate national elections, signalling deepening tensions within Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling alliance.

Elections should be held “as soon as possible,” Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said at the party’s annual meeting on Friday (Sep 11). “The general election is the defining moment for us to regain the mandate to lead,” said Zahid, who is Anwar’s deputy prime minister. 

The remark is the clearest indication yet that Umno may not continue its alliance with Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan beyond the current term. Relations between Anwar and Zahid have deteriorated after the Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition competed against Pakatan in two state polls, and Zahid took jabs at the prime minister.

“Enough, teacher,” Zahid said, referring to Anwar. “We can do better than the teacher.” 

While Barisan is part of the current administration, it previously dominated politics in the South-east Asian country, losing power at the 2018 elections after ruling the country for over six decades since independence.

Zahid spoke of a grand collaboration of parties and Malay unity, hinting at a potential alliance with opposition bloc Perikatan Nasional – which is led by Islamist party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia – on a wider scale. 

Barisan partnered Perikatan in the Negeri Sembilan elections and wrested control of the state from Anwar’s Pakatan, and they may extend that collaboration for the upcoming state polls in Malacca. PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan was present at the Umno assembly, while Pakatan leaders were not invited.

Anwar has previously indicated that he was not in a rush to call for an election and has been said to be delaying polls in order to rebuild dwindling public support. Barisan holds 30 parliamentary seats in the current multi-coalition government, and its exit could strip Anwar of his supermajority in parliament, though not the simple majority needed to remain in power.

“This is not pressure but a hopeful desire,” Zahid, speaking of an early election, told Umno delegates in Kuala Lumpur. 

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Both Barisan and Perikatan control the vast majority of votes from the Malay ethnic group, which makes up two-thirds of the country’s population.

In his address, Zahid called for a return of the goods and services tax, which Anwar has consistently opposed. He also called on authorities not to use power to “intimidate and bully others,” in an indirect reference to several Barisan leaders who have been charged in court in recent weeks. 

On Thursday, Zahid said he was hopeful of a pardon for ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak, a former Umno leader who remains jailed after multiple convictions related to the 1MDB corruption scandal. On Friday, the Malaysian king deferred a decision on whether to grant clemency. BLOOMBERG