Zahid admits that rejection of party members, and Malays gave an impact on Umno
ZULHISHAM ISAHAK25 Aug 2023 10:52pm
Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi - BERNAMA
The BN chairman said this was due to the cooperation between Umno and DAP who were previously hostile to the point that some labeled the relationship as ‘UMDAP’ and even that term haunted them.
In this regard, he said, BN needs to work hard to convince party members and the people at the grassroots level that the cooperation between Umno and Pakatan Harapan (PH) is for the good of the various races and there is no need to worry.
"The rejection of Umno members and the Malays affected the party, but the enlightenment process was done by BN and after that it was well received, this is not impossible for us (BN-PH) to do," he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister said this at a press conference after the Opening Ceremony of the @KKDW Belia dan Desa Madani @KKDW di B5 Street Market , Tampoi here on Friday.
Also present were Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister Datuk Rubiah Awang and the State Secretary and Chairman of the Johor Southeast Development Board (Kejora), Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani.
On Thursday, it was reported that Zahid said that BN had done a post-mortem on its poor performance in the recent state elections.
"We will no longer look back, instead we will move forward. I, myself will go down to 191 sections across the country.
"I wish to meet all the leaders at the grassroot levels, the women wing leaders and the youth leaders," he said.
Zahid added that the collaboration with PH or DAP is not new because Umno has previously collaborated with Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia (Gerakan).
"This is not a new thing for BN, we have worked with Gerakan in the past which was the opposition that controlled the Penang government at that time," he said.
He said the rejection of Umno members and the Malays did happen at that time but the enlightenment process was carried out by the BN government in 1974 before being accepted well after that.
"This is not impossible for us (PH-BN) to do even though the attack is very unusual with various slanders and issues raised.
"What is important in our country is being together and to have a good understanding between various races, cultures and religions must so that racial prejudice does not arise.
"This is important because we want to form a civilised Malaysia with a diversity of races without abandoning the national identity of this country," he said.
