Ahmad Zahid Backs Proposal For UMNO To Contest At Least One Seat In Kota Raja

KLANG, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has voiced his support for the proposal that UMNO be allotted at least one seat in its Kota Raja division in the next general or state election. 

Ahmad Zahid, who is Deputy Prime Minister, said the proposal put forward by Kota Raja UMNO division chief Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz is consistent with the current political reality, which is built on cooperation among parties within the Unity Government.

The Kota Raja UMNO division encompasses the Kota Raja parliamentary seat and three state seats, namely Sentosa, Sungai Kandis and Kota Kemuning.

“Given our mutual understanding, we hope our partners in Kota Raja will recognise the value of unity and agree that out of the four seats, one should be allocated to UMNO," he said when officiating the Kota Raja UMNO division annual meeting here today. 

Earlier, Tengku Zafrul, who is also Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, expressed his wish for UMNO to be allocated one of the four seats in its Kota Raja UMNO division. 

Amanah president and Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu is the current Kota Raja MP. 

Sentosa is represented by G. Gunarajah (PH-PKR), Sungai Kandis by Wan Dzahanurin Ahmad (PN-Bersatu) and Kota Kemuning, Preakas Sampunathan (PH-DAP). 

Barisan Nasional contested the federal seat in the 2022 general election, but paved the way for its Unity Government partner, Pakatan Harapan, to contest all the three state seats in the 2023 Selangor state election.

PH won two seats in that state election. Bersatu of PN won the third.

In his speech, Ahmad Zahid acknowledged that UMNO's previous economic successes under its administration no longer ensure political confidence.

He said UMNO's past failures to adapt to changing public sentiments were evident in its loss of dominance in Selangor and Penang during the 12th General Election.

“It was not only in Selangor but a nationwide issue. We must confront this new political reality and recognise the historical context.

“Even though Selangor was once a stronghold for UMNO, this situation has changed. The shift was not organic but rather structural," he added.

Ahmad Zahid also cautioned grassroots members not to assume that UMNO’s current seven Cabinet ministers signify a return to its former dominance.

“DAP, with more seats than us, only has five full ministers. At the grassroots level, we should not believe that having seven ministers means we are as dominant as before.

“In this new political reality, we must be realistic about our standing,” he said, while expressing satisfaction with the performance of the seven ministers.

-- BERNAMA