‘Survival tactic’: UMNO’s proposed ‘grand collaboration’ of Malay-Islamic parties is a hedging strategy, but will it work?

KUALA LUMPUR: Emerging from its just-concluded general assembly, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) - Malaysia’s longest-governing party - appears to be pursuing a strategy of staying open to working with any potential parties as the shadow of the country’s next general election looms.

Analysts whom CNA spoke to said they observed a party clearly hedging its bets as it pitched a "grand collaboration" with long-time Malay-Muslim rivals even while being anchored to the current unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

These experts believe that party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is simultaneously seeking to consolidate his internal position within UMNO through his "Rumah Bangsa"- or unity committee - plan to bring back former members, as well as through his vocal appeal to the king for the pardon of jailed former premier Najib Razak.

Political scientist Syaza Syukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia observed that Zahid - who is also Malaysia’s deputy prime minister - was managing the possibility of UMNO working with anyone and perhaps “even everyone” going into the next general election. 

GE16 must be held by early 2028, though state elections in Melaka, Sarawak, and Johor are expected to be held by this year.

“It is clear that UMNO is hedging and because of that there’s no clear direction yet. But I think UMNO maybe knows its limitations now and that’s why they’ve kind of stuck with the Malay-Muslim identity script,” she told CNA.  

However, analysts and one former UMNO minister did not believe that the “grand collaboration” idea mooted by Zahid at the closing of the party’s general assembly was feasible.  

Instead they said that the party - which suffered from internal fractures following the last general election that was held in November 2022 - should work on healing its unity first.  

Former UMNO minister Nazri Aziz spoke in favour of the unity committee, describing it as a vital move to mend the party internally by welcoming back former members - as well as new ones - into its fold. This even as he appeared lukewarm to Zahid’s “grand collaboration” idea. 

The UMNO president had said that the proposed plan involving all Malay-Islamic political parties in Malaysia was meant to unite their shared struggles even as he claimed that it was not intended to facilitate any “backdoor” manoeuvres that could destabilise the current unity government.

'We have to heal UMNO first before we can talk about unity with other Malay parties and before we can focus on the next general election,” said Nazri, who had previously served as Malaysian Ambassador to the United States from February 2023 to February 2025.

SEEN AS A “SURVIVAL TACTIC” 

Observers argued that it was unrealistic to expect opposition rivals to join a pact that requires them to support the very government they are trying to topple. 

UMNO, which is the lynchpin of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, is a key partner in Anwar’s unity government - an alliance formed to resolve the hung parliament following the November 2022 general election. 

Syaza observed the grand collaboration idea was an obvious attempt to keep the door open to the possibility of working with opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN), and especially with Parti Se-Islam Malaysia (PAS). The Islamist party won the most number of seats of any Malaysian political party at GE15. 

“I see it more as a survival tactic because at the end of the day UMNO will be competing with PAS and Bersatu for Malay votes. 

“So if they can somehow ‘collaborate’ especially on seat allocations that could reduce UMNO being seen as defeated at the polls. But of course at this point I’m not sure what this collaboration is because it’s supposedly informal but political,” she said, referring to the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia - an UMNO splinter party - that is led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

When asked on Saturday whether the collaboration would see electoral alliances with other parties at the upcoming state election, Zahid remained coy, saying that they would decide when they cross the bridge. 

Zahid’s proposal comes amid calls to revive the Muafakat Nasional (MN) collaboration - an electoral pact between UMNO and PAS in 2019 that was once thought dead. MN fell apart when PAS and Bersatu formed PN, which is now the federal opposition bloc. 

James Chin, a professor of Asian studies from the University of Tasmania also dismissed Zahid’s “grand coalition” as a non-starter, noting that opposition parties are unlikely to join a pact that requires them to support the current unity government.  

“UMNO may not have any specific strategy but it knows it cannot abandon Pakatan Harapan (PH) because the main parties in PN want to kill off UMNO. UMNO are stuck with Anwar and PH and they have no other place to go,” said Chin.

Even so, leaders of the Malay-Islamic opposition parties say they are open to Zahid’s proposal, but have raised questions about UMNO’s position in the unity government. 

Bersatu said it would only consider the proposal once full details are provided, with its president Muhyuddin saying that no party leader has been mandated to engage in discussions on the matter so far.

Meanwhile, PAS said it is examining the “form of cooperation” proposed, but questioned the purpose of the move if UMNO continues to support the PH-led government.

Separately, Nazri - the former UMNO minister - agreed with Chin’s assessment, believing that an electoral partnership with its unity government coalition members, particularly PH, was a given. 

“UMNO can’t go through GE16 similar to GE15. There is a need to have some form of understanding with its unity government partners to ensure there are only two-cornered fights instead of three-cornered fights,” he said, adding that the party would be lucky if it were to win 40 federal seats in the next general election. 

UMNO won 26 seats at GE15, its worst-ever performance at a general election. It won 54 seats in the 2018 election and 89 in the 2013 election.

Nazri, however, does not think that the “grand collaboration” will take off, saying that while the idea of “Malay unity” sounded good, it was merely rhetoric and a tough sell in reality.  

“Let’s just say we work with PAS and Bersatu, and the formula will be based on the incumbent contesting the seat. 

“That means UMNO has to close in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis. What’s the point of being a political party if you can’t contest (in an election)?,” he told CNA, referring to the principle of contesting seats previously won as the main basis for seat allocation in political cooperation. 

UMNO, which is the oldest political party in Malaysia, lost its 61-year hold on government when it was voted out of power in favour of the PH coalition - then led by Mahathir Mohamed - during the 14th General Election in 2018.

The party, which ruled Malaysia as the anchor party of the BN coalition since the country’s independence, lost power on the back of widespread public anger over the scandal at state-owned investment vehicle 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

The 1MDB scandal subsequently led to the conviction and jailing of Najib for corruption. 

NAJIB CONTINUES TO LOOM LARGE

But beyond strategic alliances, the shadow of Najib’s imprisonment continues to loom over the party, presenting a persistent challenge to Zahid’s authority.

Hisomuddin Bakar, executive director of Ilham Centre, describes the pressure to secure the former UMNO president’s release from prison as a “difficult dilemma” for the current leadership.

“On one hand, Zahid must maintain stability within the unity government, while on the other, he faces emotional demands from grassroots members who still regard Najib as an enduring symbol of the party’s struggle,” he said.

During his opening speech of the UMNO assembly on Jan 16, Zahid issued a plea to Malaysia’s king Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to pardon Najib, who has been jailed at the Kajang prison in Selangor since August 2022.

"When it comes to Najib, our support has never changed. Our efforts to defend him have never wavered,” said Zahid.

"UMNO humbly petitions and appeals to the grace of His Majesty for compassion toward Najib, seeking any form of consideration or leniency that would allow him to return to the embrace of his family and to all of us."

Syaza views the appeal by Zahid as more of a tactical manoeuvre than a legal strategy. She believed the move was intended to keep the sentiment alive and demonstrate support for Najib as demanded by the grassroots.

“Although his public call can be seen as an 'attempt', I think Zahid knows the process and procedures. This is just a public plea for signalling. As a third party, Zahid and UMNO cannot really do much to influence the outcome,” she said.

Meanwhile, Chin observed that many among the UMNO grassroots members felt that Zahid had not done enough to get Najib out of jail. 

Seeking to prevent further internal friction before the next general elections, the party has officially decided to postpone its party elections - originally due in March 2026 - until after GE16.

While Chin notes that postponing party polls is a "longstanding tradition" within UMNO, he argues it does not necessarily silence internal dissent.

“It’s not a new thing, but it doesn't end the internal challenges,” he said. 

Syaza believes the no-contest decision provides stability in the sense of buying more time. 

“I think going into GE16 there will be more pressure on Zahid and UMNO to decide who they actually want to work with. They say there’s no guarantee of working with PH. 

“So by next year I don’t think UMNO can run away from finally making a decision. Or are they going to have a three-corner collaboration with PH and PN the way PH worked with BN and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah in the Sabah state polls?,” she questioned.

INTERNAL PEACE PLAN

For many observers, Zahid’s idea of a “unity committee” comes at a defining moment for UMNO, as the party aims to recover from its most significant electoral setbacks in history.

Zahid said the move would facilitate the return of former members and political rivals - whether individually or en bloc - as part of a broader mission to reposition UMNO as the “grand home for the Malays”.

The move appears to be part of the Malay nationalist party’s aim to welcome back former members who have left the fold, something that had been hinted at by the UMNO Supreme Council previously. The council is the party’s top policy-making body. 

Hisomudin of Ilham Centre said that UMNO entered GE15 deeply fractured from within, with the candidate selection process revealing an open clash between the camps aligned to Ismail Sabri - who is also an immediate past prime minister - and Zahid, triggering silent protests across many divisions. 

“This outcome demonstrated that UMNO’s problems were not solely rooted in external perception, but were driven largely by an internal crisis of confidence,” he said.

Hisomudin added that the situation deteriorated further after the election when Zahid took decisive action by suspending and expelling several prominent leaders such as Khairy Jamaluddin and Hishammuddin Hussein.

“While these disciplinary measures were intended to consolidate party control, they deepened the divide within UMNO and reinforced the narrative that the party was becoming increasingly intolerant of dissenting voices,” he said. 

But in a turn of events, Khairy made an appearance at the UMNO Youth general assembly to rapturous applause last Thursday three years after he was sacked from the party. 

The former chief of the UMNO Youth wing said that he had received Zahid’s blessing to attend the event - a sign of the party’s open-door policy to welcome back its former members. 

Hisomudin told CNA that if the unity committee idea succeeds, Zahid may well be remembered as a magnanimous leader, similar to how Malaysia’s second prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein once welcomed back an expelled Mahathir into UMNO. Mahathir would later become the county’s longest-ever serving prime minister. 

“It should be understood as an internal peace plan for UMNO. It has the potential to become a bridge of reconciliation between the old and new generations of leadership, and between those who were removed and the current power structure.

“The party has risen from major crises before, and this could mark the beginning of a new phase of revival,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Nazri pointed to a renewed sense of optimism on the assembly floor and believed that while UMNO continues to grapple with complex issues, the morale of the delegates was significantly higher than in the previous assemblies following their GE15 defeat.

He, however, acknowledged that this did not mean voters would feel the same way about the party and that there was a lot of work for party members to do.  

“What we need to do now is to transfer these good feelings to the voters. It won’t be easy. We also have to remind ourselves that it can never be like before where we won many seats,” he said.