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Iman Muttaqin Yusof

Malaysia’s once-dominant Umno party has given its clearest indication yet that it will break with the country’s current ruling alliance, after its president called on Friday for a general election to be held immediately.
The call comes as the United Malays National Organisation deepens ties with opposition Islamist party the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), buoyed by recent state victories and growing talk of a new alignment to consolidate the Malay vote.
“The time has come for the [national election] to be held immediately. Agree?” Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told delegates during the party’s general assembly at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur. “Since we are already fighting, let us fight. Fight all the way.”
The demand represented a much tougher line from Zahid, who only last week said Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) was open to an early election but was prepared to let parliament run its full term. Malaysia does not have to hold its next general election until early 2028.

Zahid, deputy prime minister in Anwar Ibrahim’s government, also warned against betrayal in future political deals but did not name any of Umno’s current government partners.
“Do not build an understanding by day but plan to bring down your partner at night,” he said in a cryptic remark. “Do not sign an agreement and, at the same time, break it.”
Amir Fareed Rahim, strategic director at risk consultancy KRA Group, said this year’s congress felt markedly different because Umno had entered it “more confident and buoyant” after strong victories in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections.
BN swept Johor in July, winning 48 of the state’s 56 seats and reducing Pakatan Harapan (PH) to eight. A month later in Negeri Sembilan, electoral cooperation between BN and Perikatan Nasional delivered 25 of 36 seats, enough for a two-thirds majority. Umno won all 16 seats it contested there.
“With GE16 drawing closer, there are also clearer indications that the leadership is preparing the ground to move beyond the current unity government arrangement and explore alternative partnerships, particularly to consolidate the Malay vote,” Amir said, referring to Malaysia’s 16th general election, the next to be held.
“Malay political rhetoric is rarely explicit,” he said, noting that Zahid was still preserving some strategic ambiguity by insisting Umno must lead any new arrangement.
“But the subtext of his presidential address and the political gestures surrounding the congress point towards an Umno increasingly comfortable with seeking a different alignment for GE16.”
Blue wave
PAS is the only party outside BN invited to the four-day congress. PH, Anwar’s coalition and Umno’s partner in the federal government, was not invited.
PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden attended the Umno Youth assembly with members of his leadership team, and representatives from the Islamist party’s women’s wing were also welcomed. Umno leaders had attended PAS’ annual congress in Kelantan last week, their first appearance there since 2019.
Zahid called the emerging arrangement tafahum siyasi, or a political understanding, rather than a merger. Part of a wider “grand collaboration” he first proposed at last year’s congress, the pact would allow parties to find common ground without surrendering their identities.
“Umno remains Umno. Barisan Nasional remains Barisan Nasional,” he said.
The Umno president also unveiled his Agenda Malaysia Biru, or Blue Malaysia Agenda – an eight-point programme covering the economy, skills, social welfare, governance and national resilience that would be BN’s blueprint should it return to lead the federal government.
An earlier election would give Umno the chance to capitalise on its recent momentum before differences with PAS over seats and leadership became harder to manage, Amir said.

“Time is the enemy of such an arrangement,” he said. “The longer GE16 is delayed, the greater the likelihood that competing ambitions, overlapping seat claims and the question of who leads the Malay bloc will expose the fundamental tensions between Umno and PAS.”
A total of 6,401 delegates have registered to attend the congress, which is expected to draw more than 50,000 visitors over four days, according to Umno secretary general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Former prime minister Najib Razak also remained a prominent presence despite being in prison, with his wife Rosmah Mansor receiving a VIP welcome at Friday’s proceedings and applause from delegates.
A day earlier, Noraini Ahmad, the chief of Umno’s women’s wing Wanita Umno, said that the party had not forgotten Najib. “We do not need to erase history to build the future,” Noraini said. “His contributions … cannot be denied simply because politics has changed.”
The reception came on the same day Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim deferred a decision on Najib’s latest application for a royal pardon.
Najib has been imprisoned since 2022 after being convicted of corruption involving SRC International, a former subsidiary of state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). His original 12-year sentence was halved in 2024.
Separately, he was sentenced last year to another 15 years in prison for abuse of power and money laundering in the wider 1MDB scandal. He is appealing that conviction.


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Umno seeks early Malaysian election to cement conservative Malay bloc

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi speaks at his party's annual assembly on Friday. Photo: Facebook/mediaumnomalaysia

Umno delegates pray at the annual assembly on Friday. Photo: Facebook/mediaumnomalaysia

Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (centre) celebrates Barisan Nasional’s win in Negeri Sembilan on August 1. Photo: Facebook/barisanasional

PAS delegates attend the Umno congress on Friday. Photo: Facebook/mediaumnomalaysia

Umno delegates welcome visitors from PAS at the annual assembly on Friday. Photo: Facebook/mediaumnomalaysia

PAS members sit in the VIP area at Umno’s general assembly on Friday. Photo: Facebook/mediaumnomalaysia

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Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak (centre) arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court complex last year. Photo: AP

Rosmah Mansor, wife of jailed former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak, arrives at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Thursday for an appeal hearing. Photo: EPA

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PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (centre) attends the party’s recent annual congress. Photo: Handout

PAS supporters take a selfie with party president Abdul Hadi Awang (centre) during its annual convention in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, on Friday. Photo: Facebook/abdulhadiawang

US President Barack Obama (second from right) with Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (second from left), Queen Haminah Hamidun and Prime Minister Najib Razak in Kuala Lumpur in April 2014. Photo: AP

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (right) greets performers during the 69th Independence Day celebration in Putrajaya on August 31. Photo: Reuters

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The United Malays National Organisation (Umno) headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA-EFE

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi addresses supporters following the announcement of Negeri Sembilan’s election results in August. Photo: Facebook/mediaumnomalaysia

The various state sultans of Malaysia pose for photographs in 2023 before the election for the country’s king at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: EPA-EFE

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PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang (centre, in vest) attends the party’s annual convention Kota Bharu, Malaysia, on Friday. Photo: Facebook/abdulhadiawang

PAS delegates attend the party’s annual convention in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, on Friday. Photo: Facebook/abdulhadiawang

Supporters of PAS wave flags in Pekan, Malaysia. The party holds 43 parliamentary seats and governs Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis. Photo: AFP

PAS delegates at the party’s annual convention on Friday. Photo: Facebook/abdulhadiawang

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Umno is deepening ties with PAS, buoyed by recent state victories and growing talk of a new alignment to consolidate the Malay vote


Umno is deepening ties with PAS, buoyed by recent state victories and growing talk of a new alignment to consolidate the Malay vote.


Umno seeks early Malaysian election to cement conservative Malay bloc

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Umno is deepening ties with PAS, buoyed by recent state victories and growing talk of a new alignment to consolidate the Malay vote

Umno is deepening ties with PAS, buoyed by recent state victories and growing talk of a new alignment to consolidate the Malay vote