JOHOR Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi has urged Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to step down as UMNO president following UMNO/Barisan Nasional’s (BN) disastrous performance during yesterday’s (Nov 19) polls.
In a statement today, Onn Hafiz, the great-grandson of former Johor menteri besar and UMNO president Onn Jaafar, said it was clear that the party has collapsed.
“All of us take note that a Malay political tsunami has occurred, whereby the Malays have rejected UMNO.
“UMNO and BN only won nine parliamentary seats in Johor, while we didn’t even win one parliamentary seat in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Melaka, Kelantan or Terengganu,” he noted.
Admitting that it was a difficult reality to accept, Onn Hafiz said UMNO leaders, including himself, have to listen to the voice of the people, which was made clear through the ballots during the 15th General Elections (GE15).
The Machap assemblyman added that many UMNO, MCA and MIC leaders who were of calibre and potential were “sacrificed” because UMNO/BN did not want to listen to the pulse of their grassroots.
“Efforts to restore and improve this party (UMNO) must start now,” he said. “If we do not change now, we will not win even a single seat in the future.
“Therefore, with full respect and reverence, I appeal to Zahid to step down as UMNO president as soon as possible, just as Datuk Seri Najib Razak magnanimously resigned as president in 2018.”
The former prime minister resigned as UMNO president following the results of the 2018 polls, in which UMNO/BN was booted out of federal power after 61 years and replaced by Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“God willing, this big-hearted action (Zahid resigning as UMNO president) will help us take the first step to restore and strengthen the UMNO party that we all love,” said Onn Hafiz.
“All their sacrifices will be appreciated and God willing, this struggle will continue.”
Collectively, BN only managed to wrest 30 federal seats in GE15, far fewer than what Perikatan Nasional (PN) and PH garnered (73 and 82 seats, respectively).
However, since no coalition managed to reach the magic number of 112 to gain a simple majority, GE15 has resulted in a hung Parliament, and political horse-trading and negotiations are taking place as we speak for a multi-coalition government to be formed.
Zahid, on the other hand, scraped through the polls by the skin of his teeth, retaining his Bagan Datuk seat by a slim 348 majority.
It is note mentioning that the former deputy prime minister has insisted on polls being held this year (ahead of the 14th Parliament’s scheduled expiration next year) for months now, leading to caretaker prime minister and UMNO man Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolving Parliament last month. – Nov 20, 2022
