Let Umno delegates decide on contest for top posts, says Zahid

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said he is leaving it to the delegates to decide whether the top two posts in the party should be contested in the coming election, which must be held by May 19.

Zahid said various views had been expressed on the election for the posts of president and deputy president, and that he was confident that the Umno delegates were mature enough to assess the situation in line with the country's democratic process.

"Some prefer no contest for these two posts, but just as many want them to be contested. As one who subscribes to the process of democracy, I’m leaving it to the delegates to decide.

"However, I am confident that Umno members can differentiate between a piece of glass and a jewel, which one is smooth on the outside but crooked on the inside.

"As young people say, which one is original and which one is fake," he said in his presidential address at the 2022 Umno general assembly at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Zahid, who is deputy prime minister and rural and regional development minister, was previously reported as saying that he was open to challenge from anyone eyeing the president’s post.
 
Zahid said this would give an opportunity for some 160,000 delegates to choose the party leadership, especially the president and deputy president.

In the 2018 party election, Zahid was elected as president, polling 93 votes to beat Khairy Jamaluddin, who obtained 51 votes, and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who had 23 votes.

In May last year, Umno amended its constitution to enable the party to defer its polls by up to six months after the general election so that members could focus on preparing for the general election.

Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan later said that the Registrar of Societies had approved its constitutional amendments with minor changes, effective July 29, 2022.