JOHOR BARU – Calls for Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to relinquish his post will be discussed in the party’s political bureau and supreme council meetings today, said party vice-president Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
“Yes, we are going to hold meetings for the political bureau later today and then the supreme council after that.
“So, the calls for Zahid to step down will be discussed during these meetings,” the newly-elected Kota Tinggi MP said when contacted by The Vibes.
He however refused to comment further on the matter, saying that the party will not air its dirty laundry in public.
“No further comment. Let it be discussed by the party,” said Khaled.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi fired the first salvo this morning, calling for Zahid to step down following the party’s disastrous showing in the 15th general election (GE15) yesterday.
In a Facebook post, he said a political tsunami has occurred and the Malays have rejected Umno.
“Umno has fallen. Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) won only nine parliament seats in Johor, while we did not win a single parliament seat in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Melaka, Kelantan or Terengganu.
“Also, though a bitter pill to swallow, Umno leaders, including myself, have to return to hear the voice of the people which was translated through their votes yesterday,” he said.
In echoing the call for Zahid’s resignation, Kota Raja Umno Youth also said they were frustrated following the GE15 results and called on him (Zahid) to take full responsibility.
Its chief, Sheikh Weshal Sheikh Ahmad, said it is time all negotiations between Umno and other parties be undertaken by Umno vice-president, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob which would be more open, calm and for the good of the party and not for personal reasons.
BN only won 30 parliamentary seats out of the total 191 seats the former ruling coalition contested, nine of which were in Johor.
Johor Umno committee working secretary Pandak Ahmad attributed yesterday’s loss to the leadership’s failure to listen to the opinion and concerns of the grassroots.
“This is a gut-wrenching loss,” the Kota Iskandar assemblyman said when contacted.
Agreeing with Onn, Pandak added that there’s a need for an overhaul of the party’s leadership beginning with the president.
“The president (Zahid) should be magnanimous and shoulder the responsibility of BN’s disastrous GE15 outing.”
It is an open secret that Zahid had been pushing hard for a snap poll following BN’s and its allies victory in the previous Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka and Johor state polls.
In the prior Johor election, BN won in a landslide victory after sweeping 42 out of the 56 state seats in the Johor state legislative assembly.
Despite their apparent dominance, Pakatan Harapan (PH) had always insisted that the state poll results did not reflect the real picture as the election was held during the lockdown period due to Covid-19.
In that election, only 54.92% voter turnout was recorded.
In contrast, the 14th general election saw voter turnout exceed the 80% mark in 25 out of 26 parliamentary seats in Johor, during which PH won 18 federal seats and 36 state seats in the southern state.
Yesterday, 1,884,411 or 72.66% of the registered voters in Johor voted.
There are 26 parliamentary seats in Johor, with PH winning 15, followed by BN with nine while the other two seats were won by Perikatan Nasional. – The Vibes, November 20, 2022
