Umno eyes return to delegates system in party polls as Zahid seeks to tighten party grip

Plans are afoot in Umno to reintroduce the delegates system for choosing top posts, over a decade after the party switched to a new system that extended the democratic process to more members across the country, MalaysiaNow has learnt.

The prospect has however been criticised by grassroots members, many of whom see it as an attempt to consolidate the position of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, under whose leadership Umno has declined since the 2022 general election.  

It is understood that the proposal is one of the motions to be discussed at the divisional meetings in the run-up to the Umno general assembly on Aug 20.

The motion will then be debated at the general assembly, with a decision to be made by the party's Supreme Council.

If it is passed, Umno divisions will send 15 delegates each, plus six as representatives of the party's wings, to elect the top leadership.

The next party elections will be held in 2026.

The motion, sighted by MalaysiaNow, urged the Supreme Council to review the party's existing election procedures, particularly for key leadership positions including the president, deputy president and vice-president, as well as for the election of the youth, women's and Puteri wings.

Sources told MalaysiaNow that the proposal for a return to the old system was due to the failure of the existing electoral college system to achieve its objectives.

"The current method creates divisions as it gives rise to many alliances, which gives a bad impression as we face the coming general election," said an Umno division chief.

He also said that the current system had led to factionalism within the party.

"If a division does not support a candidate, that division is seen as an ally of a particular faction.

"This has caused disunity and affected preparations for the general election," the Umno man told MalaysiaNow on condition of anonymity.

Other reasons cited by those who want to abolish the current system are problems related to the party's selection committee, as well as monitoring and logistical problems with simultaneous voting by the youth, women's and Puteri wings at each division.

Umno amended its constitution in 2009 to implement the concept of "one division, one vote" in party leadership elections.

Under this system, around 150,000 grassroots members covering 20,000 branches in 191 divisions across the country are entitled to vote in elections for the party's central leadership.

The changes were initially hailed for extending the democratic space to grassroots members and curbing "money politics".

Elections were held under the electoral college system for the first time in 2013.

Prior to that, Umno division members could only vote in division-level elections.

For central leadership elections, the 191 divisions nationwide would select a total of 2,500 delegates to attend and vote at the general assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

Each delegate would be given three sets of ballots, for the election of the divisional committee, the election of seven delegates from each division to attend the general assembly, and the election of Supreme Council members including the president, deputy president and vice-president.

'Money politics'

The plan to revert to the original system has not been well received by a number of Umno division leaders who said the current system should be retained.

They said reverting to the old system would herald a return of "money politics", in which delegates from across the country could be handpicked and "bought" by powerful and ambitious leaders at the central level.  

"This will bring back the problem of money politics," said an Umno division chief, using the phrase which referred to vote-buying activities in Umno elections in the 1990s, when the faction of then deputy president Anwar Ibrahim was expanding its influence in a bid to replace Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"Let the grassroots members elect their leaders because that is their right. The delegates selected to go to Kuala Lumpur should not be the only ones who can cast their votes," the same source told MalaysiaNow.

"The chosen delegates may not be able to reflect the voice of the grassroots and would vote according to their own feelings.

"Money politics will be rife among the delegates. This is something we do not want," the source added.