Umno has big role in pulling Malay support, Zahid says on state polls

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi believes the party shoulders great responsibility within the coalition government component in the upcoming six state polls.

He said Umno is up against states categorised as the "Malay Belt", namely Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan, which he says should be part of a mixed government administration to truly reflect the face of Malaysia.

In his policy speech at the 2023 Umno general assembly, Zahid said that Kelantan and Kedah are in need of significant changes, especially in terms of the state governments being "clean" both externally and internally.

"The issue of clean water supply in Kelantan, for instance, seems to have no solution in sight," he said at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur today.

Zahid, who is also the deputy prime minister and rural and regional development minister, faces 12 criminal breach of trust counts, eight bribery charges and 27 money laundering counts involving tens of millions of ringgit belonging to Yayasan Akalbudi.

He succeeded in his bid for the permanent return of his passport to carry out his official duties abroad.

The passport was previously surrendered to the court as an additional bail condition. 

In September, Zahid was acquitted of 40 charges of receiving bribes from Ultra Kirana Sdn Bhd (UKSB) during his tenure as home minister to extend the company's contract to continue operating the one-stop centre in China and the foreign visa system.

Zahid also reiterated Umno and Barisan Nasional's (BN) intention to achieve the division of state administrations based on core parties' cooperation in the six states elections.

"We want Umno representatives in all three states."

MalaysiaNow previously reported internal turmoil in seat negotiations between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and its new ally BN, following increasing pressure on Amanah to relinquish its seats to Umno candidates in the upcoming state polls.

This comes amid concerns over attempts to replace Amanah, seen as a "Malay" and "Islamic" component of PH, with Umno, the former enemy turned ally after providing support for PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as prime minister last year.