KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, accused by some within the party of plotting a pre-election agreement with Pakatan Harapan (PH), has swiftly dismissed the allegations as untrue.
In fact, he revealed that in multiple discussions involving the party’s top leadership prior to the 15th general election, they had only considered two different options – cooperation with Borneo parties and PAS, or one without the latter.
These discussions, he said, involved Umno’s top five leaders, the political bureau, and Supreme Council, all of which agreed that no one party would be able to form the government after the polls and negotiations needed to be done with external parties.
In this regard, he said it is unfair to accuse him of cutting a secret deal with PH prior to polling.
“We didn’t have any confidential agreement, as per the one inked by certain quarters without the party’s knowledge,” he said, ostensibly referring to the group of 10 Barisan Nasional MPs who signed statutory declarations supporting Perikatan Nasional prior to the formation of the new government.
He was addressing the Umno general assembly at the party’s headquarters, here, this morning.
To further back his claim that no pre-election deal occurred with PH, Zahid noted how he had to face off with a prominent PH leader – Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin – in his Bagan Datuk constituency.
“Does this mean I had a secret agreement with PH? Would I purposely lower my own chances of winning in Bagan Datuk?” he questioned.
In the November 19, 2022 federal polls, Zahid successfully defended his seat, albeit by a meagre 348-vote majority, his smallest margin of victory since making his electoral debut in the federal constituency in 1995.
Similarly, Zahid said it is also unfair for anyone to accuse him of purportedly acting unilaterally in the selection of election candidates, which subsequently cost Umno.
He maintained that all decisions relating to the polls were jointly made with Umno’s top leaders and the respective state liaison chairmen.
He also noted that of the 119 Umno candidates put forward for the election, he had only made six changes at the eleventh hour due to certain considerations.
“With the collective effort involving the whole leadership structure, can anyone accuse me of reducing Umno’s chances of winning?
“By putting forward new faces as part of the party’s internal renewal, as well as reducing the perception that Umno is a party of warlords, can this be construed as a move to lower our chances?” – The Vibes, January 13, 2023
