UMNO faces ‘absurdity of politics’ in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR – For decades, UMNO presidents have walked past a mural at the World Trade Centre depicting the rival Democratic Action Party’s (DAP) rocket logo piercing constitutional articles protecting Malay special rights – a symbol of political enmity.

What the party had not envisaged was governing alongside DAP at the federal and state levels, only to oppose it later in Sabah’s state election.

“Isn’t this a kepelikan politik?” UMNO president Zahid Hamidi said in his keynote speech at UMNO’s general assembly on Jan 16, using a Malay term he coined roughly meaning “the absurdity of politics”.

“Even if political cooperation exists between parties taking different paths, collaboration at the federal level may not be reflected at the state, as politics today is full of contradictions.”

His declaration highlighted UMNO’s contradictory navigation: allowing its grassroots to fire salvos against DAP while governing together federally; rejecting a formal alliance with Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) while pursuing Muslim unity pacts.

The “absurdities” defined UMNO’s 79th anniversary assembly, where around 3,000 delegates gathered to chart an electoral strategy that must simultaneously satisfy its Malay-Muslim base and maintain federal coalition stability – all while preparing to contest solo in the 16th general election due by February 2028.

Since at least 2018, Datuk Seri Zahid has used the allegory of “the tiger and the sheep” to describe his internal and external persona: Even when he is fierce at heart like a tiger, what comes out must appear docile as a sheep.

As UMNO leaders and grassroots unleashed salvos against DAP leaders who celebrated former prime minister Najib Razak’s

failure to secure home detention

in December 2025, Mr Zahid urged composure and even rejected calls for UMNO to leave the government.

Among the most strident critics was UMNO Youth chief Akmal Saleh. On Jan 15, he quit his post as a state executive councillor in Melaka, citing the move as his way to “fight DAP to the very end”. Both UMNO and DAP are part of the state government.

However, Dr Akmal rejected perceptions that he is not aligned with the party leader. On Jan 17, he described himself as the “son” who loves Mr Zahid the most.

“The naughtiest child is the one who loves his father the most because he cannot bear to see his father deceived or misled by wrong things,” he said while winding up the debate at the assembly.

In response, Mr Zahid took him to task – using the same paternal analogy. “If there is a good son, he must have taken after his father. But if there is a naughty son, people will ask whose son he is. Akmal, you’re lucky not to be nabbed under ISA,” he warned, referring to the repealed Internal Security Act, which was historically used against political dissidents.

Anti-DAP rhetoric is far from a unifying narrative, as Peninsular Malaysia is politically divided.

This was acknowledged by UMNO information chief Azalina Othman Said, who also said Malay voters no longer automatically support parties based on ethnic or religious identity alone, with many now prioritising economic concerns over traditional loyalties.

“In the Federal Territories, the issue of UMDAP is not a big deal. But in some other states, it is a major issue,” she told the media on Jan 16. UMDAP is a term used to mock UMNO’s cooperation with DAP despite its former anti-DAP stance.

On Jan 15, the firebrand Akmal found himself upstaged during his own wing’s assembly when a performance of the Malay martial arts of silat and drumming of the traditional instrument of kompang

welcomed a former wing leader

after three years: Mr Khairy Jamaluddin.

While UMNO admitted that Mr Khairy has yet to return to the party, Mr Zahid made it clear that it will welcome leaders who have left the party – even forming a committee to possibly welcome defectors who left en bloc for splinter Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

Mr Zahid likened it to building a “Rumah Bangsa”, or a House of the Nation, as he offers UMNO as a unifying platform for all Malay political parties and movements. A committee chaired by the vice-president, Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin, will deliberate the applications of former members to rejoin UMNO according to the party constitution.

“Many youngsters are happy to see Mr Khairy because of his podcast and radio work. He is a loyalist and needed by the party for rebranding,” Pahang UMNO Puteri delegate Umairah Bajrai Jaffar, 28, told The Straits Times.

Mr Zahid also offered an olive branch to UMNO’s long-time partners, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). Both were vital partners in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition but have since deliberated whether to join the opposition Perikatan Nasional instead after feeling sidelined with no ministerial or deputy ministerial posts in the current government.

“Let’s embrace each other again. Sulking is fine, but come back… We’re too tired to appease you,” he told MCA president Wee Ka Siong and MIC deputy president M. Saravanan, who were present on Jan 16.

The remark sounded like a joke, but it may well be Mr Zahid’s last plea to the jilted partners.

In urging a return to UMNO’s former glory, Mr Zahid used a culinary analogy, saying the party should not be treated “like a curry leaf” by its allies – added to enhance a dish’s taste, but easily discarded before the dish is served.

He insisted that UMNO is the “core pillar” of national stability, having helped form the unity government with foe-turned-ally Pakatan Harapan (PH) under the decree of the then Malaysian King in 2022.

While committing to political stability until Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s term ends, Mr Zahid warned that UMNO’s “patience” should not be taken for granted, in response to strong grassroots opposition to DAP.

“I want to ask, how can UMNO’s rejection of the Urban Renewal Act (URA) and local government elections, which may marginalise Malays in urban areas, be seen as diluting the Malay struggle?” he asked delegates.

The controversial URA Bill and DAP MP Hannah Yeoh’s appointment as Federal Territories Minister have sparked concerns within UMNO that these DAP-led initiatives could erode Malay land interests and political influence in urban areas, particularly if local government elections are introduced in Kuala Lumpur.

Mr Zahid’s presence in government is seen as crucial to halting the so-called DAP agenda, according to Penang UMNO information chief Mohd Noor Ahmad, 66.

“As UMNO in the unity government safeguards Malay interests, it has delayed the passage of the URA. DAP’s proposal to introduce local government elections has yet to materialise,” the veteran grassroots leader said during the debate on the president’s speech on Jan 17.

The compromise would also not prevent UMNO from supporting Najib, the former prime minister

convicted in the 1Malaysia Development Berhad

(1MDB)

scandal

. Najib enjoys strong sympathy among UMNO members for his past contributions, but he remains controversial among PH supporters.

On Jan 16, Mr Zahid led delegates in chanting “long live the King”, as the party appealed to Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to either grant Najib a renewed pardon, or let him serve his sentence at home.

At the close of the assembly on Jan 17, delegates were shown a three-minute video paying tribute to Najib, showcasing infrastructure projects that were the brainchild of his administration, such as the East-Coast Rail Link and the Pan-Borneo Highway.

As the assembly closed its curtain, delegates were invited to join a “solat hajat” prayer session – seeking divine assistance to ease Najib’s affairs.

During the four-day assembly, a group of young men wearing grey uniform could be seen ushering VIPs and keeping order. Nothing could further demonstrate UMNO leaving its black-and-white political past than this youth volunteer squad, itself a response to PAS’ maroon-uniformed Unit Amal.

Dr Akmal had been the loudest advocate for an alliance with PAS. At a special congress on Jan 3 organised before the assembly, he argued that both parties share the same political goals on Malay rights, Islam and the Malay rulers – which he said the government had disrespected in the last three years.

Datuk Bastien Onn, a Johor UMNO grassroots leader, said PAS makes a more attractive option as an ally since both parties share many common interests, unlike DAP.

The appeal of DAP to UMNO has become even less palatable following the former’s total wipeout in the November 2025 Sabah election, in which urban Chinese voters no longer followed DAP’s lead.

“Unthinkably, we saw DAP lose support in urban areas. Previously, the UMNO leadership promoted the idea that DAP could pull in Chinese support to ensure our candidates’ victory in marginal seats,” Mr Bastien, 47, told ST. “Now, that formula is wrong.”

Mr Zahid has capitulated on the grassroots’ demands for an alliance with PAS by suggesting that the party is open to a political pact with the Islamist party.

However, veteran UMNO leader Nazri Aziz, 72, told ST that an electoral understanding with PH to avoid overlapping contests would be more beneficial than one with PAS and Bersatu.

He warned that UMNO would “have to close shop” in Kelantan and Terengganu if it allies itself with PAS there, since the latter would have the rights to contest most seats as the incumbent holders.

Meanwhile, outside the halls, UMNO’s former Terengganu menteri besar, Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman, was being interviewed by political influencer Hanif Nordin as several mobile phones live-streamed the session on TikTok. Known online as Tutup Mata, Mr Hanif is part of UMNO’s renewed strategy to reclaim the online space currently dominated by PAS.

With follower counts ranging from about 7,000 to more than 70,000 on platforms such as TikTok, 20 influencers such as the popular accounts called Naga Sari and Jebat Derhaka were among those that have been tapped by UMNO to strengthen its digital wing.

“Most importantly, we fight with facts, and one must know their rights. I told the critics to take me to court if what I’ve said is slanderous,” said Mr Hanif, 30.

Mr Zahid’s “kepelikan politik” admission reflects political clarity’s demise. Can UMNO fight and befriend the same rivals simultaneously?

Associate Professor Syaza Shukri from the International Islamic University Malaysia questioned whether UMNO can straddle both PH and PAS. “What would the dynamic be like with UMNO and PAS? PAS is bigger – can UMNO accept that?” she asked.

Meanwhile, political scientist Wong Chin Huat from Sunway University frames the dilemma starkly as the parties fight over the Malay voters.

“UMNO and PAS are like two men going after the same girl and her family’s business,” he said, referring to the voters and the seat of federal power.

Returning to Mr Zahid’s culinary metaphor: The curry leaf cannot be discarded from Malaysian politics. But as the party discovered at this 79th anniversary assembly, it cannot overpower the dish either – especially when UMNO must simultaneously season competing plates.