Zahid dares Harapan to kick Umno out of Putrajaya, dissolve Parliament

UMNO AGM | Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today openly challenged the Pakatan Harapan-led coalition government to boot out Umno from Putrajaya and call for snap polls.

In his winding-up speech, Zahid slammed Harapan supporters who had urged Umno to exit the government and reminded them that the coalition would not be in Putrajaya without BN's support.

He said the other parties that make up the coalition government today only joined in after BN had helped Harapan secure the required majority in 2022.

If they were to oust BN, Zahid said it means Harapan would lose its initial foundation and thus should return the mandate to the rakyat.

"To the 'ceplos', this government is here because of Umno. The prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) could become the premier because of Umno's support.

"You think because now you have (the support of) 153 MPs... I am not angry, I am just feeling 'hot'," he told the thousands of Umno delegates at the party's annual general assembly at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre.

"Ceplos" is a derogatory Malay term used by rivals to describe Harapan sycophants.

The deputy prime minister recounted the days following the 2022 general election when no single political entity had enough Dewan Rakyat seats to form the government.

The political stalemate ended when BN agreed to form a coalition government with its 30 seats by cooperating with Harapan - which won 82 seats - to secure a simple majority.

‘You already lost 3 MPs’

Zahid further reminded Anwar that three of his MPs - Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, and Wong Chen - have since quit PKR and vacated their Dewan Rakyat seats.

"If you ask us to quit the government, it means that logically, (Harapan) no longer has the minimum 112 seats that made the original foundation (for the government).

"Naturally, you should get a fresh mandate. There are only two options - one is to obtain a fresh mandate by calling for a general election.

"Or secondly, you can officially remove us (from the government) and table a confidence vote in the Dewan Rakyat (sic)," he said.

Zahid's remarks received raucous cheers from the delegates, who then began chanting “bubar!” (dissolve) repeatedly.

"Do you dare to do it? If you are courageous enough, then do it now!" he added.

Zahid touts BN’s professionalism

At a press conference later, Zahid explained that his challenge did not mean that BN will table a no-confidence motion against Anwar.

In a tone several degrees cooler than the rousing speech he delivered minutes earlier, he touted the professionalism of BN's leaders.

"We will continue to be in it (the government) and as long as we are in it, there are indeed differences of opinion, but we are professional members of the cabinet and also professional party leaders.

"Of course, we feel that differences of opinion should be respected. Likewise, we respect the differences of opinion expressed by them," he said.

Meanwhile, in his speech, Zahid also announced that Umno will organise a mass “Perpaduan Ummah” (Ummah Unity) rally together with PAS, aimed at gathering at least one million participants.

He tasked Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh (above) to handle the organising affairs with PAS, and asked the Merlimau lawmaker to rally support by conducting roadshow demonstrations at state levels first.

Zahid also called upon all Umno machinery to support the rally.

Reporting by Haspaizi Zain, Hariz Mohd, Shakira Buang, N Faizal Ghazali, Zarrah Morden & Khoo Shiyuan

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