Umno cannot win more than 40 parliamentary seats without a partner

(The Sun Daily) – Umno has realised that it would not be able to win more than 40 seats unless it found an ally, observers said.

They also described that Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s earlier announcement, that the Malay nationalist party would go into the polls without a partner, as shocking.

However, last week Zahid said Umno would return to the negotiation table with PAS, as long as PAS ditched Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional, and embraced Umno and Barisan Nasional.

Veteran political observer Sayuti Omar told The Malaysian Insight that Umno has realised that it cannot win more than 40 parliamentary seats without a partner.

“What Bersatu’s Rahim Thamby Chik said recently, that Umno was not going to get more than 50 seats, was right.

“They need PAS to win at least 15 to 20 extra seats, but the problem is PAS wants Bersatu. Zahid is now in a dilemma.

“One time he was so sure of going solo in the election but now he has lowered his tone to accept PAS.

“In Malay majority seats, not everyone is supporting Umno. Some want Bersatu and some want Pakatan Harapan.

“The young ones are not in favour of Umno, so now it is not confident.

“If Umno still believes the outcome will be like in Johor and Malacca, then it is wrong. The low voter turnout helped them win in the state elections,” Sayuti said.

Meanwhile, Mazlan Ali, of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said it is surprising that Zahid wants PAS again.

“Maybe he saw there are some issues that are not on Umno’s side, such as the Littoral Combat Ship scandal

“They need PAS to smooth things over. It seems like they are not confident,“ he reportedly said.