United Malays National Organisation

The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu; Jawi: ڤرتوبوهن کبڠساءن ملايو برساتو, abbreviated UMNO /ˈʌmnoʊ/ or lesser known as PEKEMBAR) is Malaysia's biggest and main national political party. It is a founding member of the Barisan Nasional coalition which, with its predecessor the Alliance, had been the government of Malaysia and dominated the country's politics from independence to the defeat in the 2018 Malaysian general election in May 2018. Until then, all of Malaysia's Prime Ministers had been members of UMNO, until Mahathir Mohamad became the first prime minister from Pakatan Harapan, and the first prime minister to have tenures with two different parties. Following Mahathir's resignation in 2020, the party subsequently rejoined the government with nine ministerial positions in the Muhyiddin cabinet.

United Malays National Organisation
Malay name	Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu
Jawi name	ڤرتوبوهن کبڠساءن ملايو برساتو
Abbreviation	UMNO
President	Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
Chairperson	Badruddin Amiruldin
Secretary-General	Ahmad Maslan
First Deputy President	Mohamad Hasan
Second Deputy President (Women Chief)	Noraini Ahmad
Vice-President	Ismail Sabri Yaakob Mahdzir Khalid Mohamed Khaled Nordin
Treasurer	Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor
Youth Chief	Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki
Founder	Onn Jaafar
Founded	11 May 1946
Legalised	11 May 1946 13 February 1988 (UMNO Baru)
Preceded by	United Malays Organisation
Headquarters	Tingkat 38, Menara Dato’ Onn, Putra World Trade Centre, Jalan Tun Ismail, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Newspaper	New Straits Times Berita Harian[nb 1] Harian Metro[nb 2]
Youth wing	Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO Malaysia
Women's wing	Wanita UMNO Malaysia
Wanita UMNO Malaysia	Pergerakan Puteri UMNO Malaysia
Membership (End of 2019)	3.2 Million
Ideology	Ketuanan Melayu[2][3] Malay nationalism National conservatism[4] Social conservatism[5]
Political position	Right-wing
National affiliation	Alliance (1952–1973) Barisan Nasional (since 1973) Muafakat Nasional (since 2019) Perikatan Nasional (2020)
Colours	Red and white
Slogan	United, Loyal, In Service Bersatu, Bersetia, Berkhidmat
Anthem	Bersatu, Bersetia, Berkhidmat
Dewan Negara:	11 / 70
Dewan Rakyat:	39 / 222
Dewan Undangan Negeri:	127 / 593
Party flag
Website
www.umno.org.my
Politics of Malaysia Political parties Elections 1. Red and white have been used since before independence.

UMNO's goals are to uphold the aspirations of Malay nationalism and the concept of Ketuanan Melayu, as well as the dignity of race, religion and country.[6] The party also aspires to protect the Malay culture as the national culture and to uphold, defend and expand Islam across Malaysia.[7][8]

In the 2018 UMNO leadership election, which was considered by many as crucial to the party's progression, former Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was elected UMNO president, defeating former UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin, and UMNO veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.[9]

History

After the British returned to Malaya in the aftermath of World War II, the Malayan Union was formed. However, the Union was met with much opposition due to its constitutional framework, which allegedly threatened Malay sovereignty over Malaya. A series of Malay congresses were held, culminating in the formation of the nationalist party, UMNO on 10 May 1946 at the Third Malay Congress in Johor Bahru, with Datuk Onn Jaafar as its leader. UMNO strongly opposed the Malayan Union, but originally did not seek political power. UMNO had no choice but continue playing a supporting role to the British colonial administration. The British cooperated with UMNO leaders and helped to defeat the communist insurgency.[10]

In 1949, after the Malayan Union had been replaced by the semi-autonomous Federation of Malaya, UMNO shifted its focus to politics and governance. According to at least one official school textbook published during UMNO's time in government, the party fought for other races once they were at the helm of the country.[11]

In 1951, Onn Jaafar left UMNO after failing to open its membership to non-Malay Malayans to form the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP).[12] Tunku Abdul Rahman replaced Dato' Onn as UMNO President. In the following year, the Kuala Lumpur branch of UMNO formed an ad hoc and temporary electoral pact with the Selangor branch of Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) to avoid contesting the same seats in the Kuala Lumpur municipal council elections.[13] UMNO and MCA eventually carried nine out of the twelve seats, dealing a crushing blow to the IMP. After several other successes in local council elections, the coalition was formalised as an "Alliance" in 1954.[14]

In 1954, state elections were held. In these elections, the Alliance won 226 of the 268 seats nationwide. In the same year, a Federal Legislative Council was formed, comprising 100 seats. 52 would be elected, and the rest would be appointed by the British High Commissioner. The Alliance demanded that 60 of the seats be elected, but despite the Tunku flying out to London to negotiate, the British held firm. Elections for the council were held in 1955, and the Alliance, which had now expanded to include the Malayan Indian Congress (MIC), issued a manifesto stating its goals of achieving independence by 1959, requiring a minimum of primary school education for all children, protecting the rights of the Malay rulers as constitutional monarchs, ending the Communist emergency, and reforming the civil service through the hiring of more Malayans as opposed to foreigners.[15][16]

When the results were released, it emerged that the Alliance had won 51 of the 52 seats contested, with the other seat going to PAS (the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party, a group of Islamists that split from UMNO). The Tunku became the first Chief Minister of Malaya.[17]

Throughout this period, the Malayan Emergency had been on-going. The Malayan Races Liberation Army (MRLA), supported by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), committed acts such as tearing down farms, disrupting transportation and communication networks, attacking police stations, and so forth. Their stated goal was the end of colonialism in Malaya. The British declared the MCP, along with several left-wing political groups, illegal in 1948. In 1955, the Alliance government together with the British High Commissioner declared an amnesty for the communist insurgents who surrendered. Representatives from the Alliance government also met with leaders of the MCP in an attempt to resolve the conflict peacefully, as their manifesto in the election stated. Chin Peng, the MCP Secretary-General, insisted that the MCP be allowed to contest elections and be declared a legal political party as a pre-condition to laying down arms. However, the Tunku rejected this, leading to an impasse.[18]

In 1956, the Tunku led a group of negotiators, comprising Alliance politicians and representatives of the Malay rulers, to London. There, they brokered a deal with the British for independence. The date of independence was set as 31 August 1957 on the condition that an independent commission is set up to draft a constitution for the country. The Alliance government was also required to avoid seizing British and other foreign assets in Malaya. A defence treaty would also be signed.[19]

The Reid Commission, led by Lord William Reid, was formed to draft the constitution. Although enshrining concepts such as federalism and a constitutional monarchy, the proposed constitution also contained provisions protecting special rights for the Malays, such as quotas in admission to higher education and the civil service, and making Islam the official religion of the federation. It also made Malay the official language of the nation, although the right to vernacular education in Chinese and Tamil would be protected. Although the Tunku and the Malay rulers had asked the Reid Commission to ensure that "in an independent Malaya all nationals should be accorded equal rights, privileges and opportunities and there must not be discrimination on grounds of race and creed," the Malay privileges, which many in UMNO backed, were cited as necessary by the Reid Commission as a form of affirmative action that would eventually be phased out. These measures were included as Articles 3, 152 and 153 of the Constitution.[20][21]

Independence was declared by the Tunku in Merdeka Stadium on 31 August 1957, marking a transition into a new era of Malayan and Malaysian politics.

Independence

Tunku Abdul Rahman, first Prime Minister of Malaya

In Malaya's first general elections in 1959, the Alliance coalition led by UMNO won 51.8% of the votes and captured 74 out of 104 seats, enough for a two-thirds majority in parliament, which would not only allow them to form the government again but amend the constitution at will. However, for the Alliance, the election was marred by internal strife when MCA leader Lim Chong Eu demanded his party be allowed to contest 40 of the 104 seats available. When the Tunku rejected this, many of Lim's supporters resigned, and ran in the election as independents, which cost the Alliance some seats.[22]

In 1961, the Tunku mooted the idea of forming a federation named "Malaysia", which would consist of the British colonies of Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak, and also the British Protectorate of Brunei. The reasoning behind this was that this would allow the federal government to control and combat communist activities, especially in Singapore. It was also feared that if Singapore achieved independence, it would become a base for Chinese chauvinists to threaten Malayan sovereignty. To balance out the ethnic composition of the new nation, the other states, whose Malay and indigenous populations would balance out the Singaporean Chinese majority, were also included.[23]

After much negotiation, a constitution was hammered out with some minor changes. For instance, the Malay privileges were now made available to all "Bumiputra", a group comprising the Malays and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia. However, the new states were also granted some autonomy unavailable to the original nine states of Malaya. After negotiations in July 1963, it was agreed that Malaysia would come into being on 31 August 1963, consisting of Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Brunei ultimately decided to opt-out of the federation due in part because of an armed revolt by the People's Party (Parti Rakyat Brunei) which objected to the formation of Malaysia,[24] and the Sultan of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddien III's demand that he be recognised as the most senior Malay ruler—a demand that was rejected.[25]

The Philippines and Indonesia strenuously objected to this development, with Indonesia claiming Malaysia represented a form of neocolonialism and the Philippines claiming Sabah as its territory. The United Nations sent a commission to the region which approved the merger after having delayed the date of Malaysia's formation to investigate. Despite further protests from the Indonesian President, Sukarno, the formation of Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963. Indonesia then declared a "confrontation" with Malaysia, sending commandos to perform guerilla attacks in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The confrontation was ended when Suharto replaced Sukarno as president. The Philippines, which had withdrawn diplomatic recognition from Malaysia, also recognised Malaysia around the same time.[26]

To reflect the change of name to Malaysia, UMNO's coalition partners promptly altered their names to the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress. Several political parties in East Malaysia, especially Sarawak, also joined the Alliance to allow it to contest elections there.

In the 1963 Singapore state elections, the Alliance decided to challenge Lee Kuan Yew's governing People's Action Party (PAP) through the Singapore Alliance Party. UMNO politicians actively campaigned in Singapore for the Singapore Alliance, contending that the Singapore Malays were being treated as second-class citizens under the Chinese-dominated PAP government. All of the UMNO-backed Malay candidates lost to PAP candidates. UMNO Secretary-General Syed Jaafar Albar travelled to Singapore to address the Malay populace. At one rally, he called the PAP Malay politicians un-Islamic and traitors to the Malay race, greatly straining PAP-UMNO relations. The PAP politicians, who saw this as a betrayal of an earlier agreement with the Alliance not to contest elections in Malaysia and Singapore respectively, decided on running on the mainland in the 1964 general election. Although the PAP contested nine Parliamentary seats and attracted large crowds at its rallies, it won only one seat. The strain in race relations caused by the communal lines along which the political factions had been drawn led to the 1964 Race Riots in Singapore.

Alliance leaders also were alarmed at Lee's behaviour, which they considered unseemly for the Chief Minister of a state. They thought he was acting as if he were the Prime Minister of a sovereign nation. Finance Minister Tan Siew Sin of the MCA labelled Lee as the "greatest, disruptive force in the entire history of Malaysia and Malaya." Lee now seemed determined to press forward politically and continue contesting elections nationwide, with the formation of the Malaysian Solidarity Council—a coalition of political parties which called for a "Malaysian Malaysia", duplicating the effort introduced earlier by Dato' Onn Ja'afar.

On 7 August 1965, Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman, seeing no alternative to avoid further bloodshed, advised the Parliament of Malaysia that it should vote to expel Singapore from Malaysia. Despite last-ditch attempts by PAP leaders, including Lee Kuan Yew, to keep Singapore as a state in the union, the Parliament on 9 August 1965 voted 126–0 in favour of the expulsion of Singapore.

Tunku opened his speech in Parliament with the words, "In all the 10 years of my leadership of this House I have never had a duty so unpleasant as this to perform. The announcement which I am making concerns the separation of Singapore from the rest of the Federation."[27][28] On that day, a tearful Lee Kuan Yew announced that Singapore was a sovereign, independent nation and assumed the role of prime minister of the new nation. His speech included this quote: "For me, it would be a moment of anguish. I mean for me, it is a moment of anguish because all my life...you see the whole of my adult life...I have believed in merger and the unity of the two territories. You know it's a people connected by geography, economics, and ties of kinship..." Hence, Singapore became the only country in the history of the modern world to gain independence against its own will. After the separation and independence of Singapore in 1965, the Singapore branch of UMNO was renamed the Singapore Malay National Organisation (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura).

Post-separation

After the separation of Singapore from the Federation, the Alliance leaders focused on continuing its policies. One involved the Malay language, which was the official language of Malaysia. UMNO sought to reduce the reliance on English in government affairs. In this, it was aided by PAS, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, which backed special rights for the Bumiputra, and the strengthening of Islam's position in public affairs. However, the PAP's Malaysian branch, which had now become Democratic Action Party (DAP), took a very strong stance against this, and continued the expelled PAP's call for a "Malaysian Malaysia". In 1968, the newly formed Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia or Gerakan, led by Lim Chong Eu, also adopted the DAP's stance.[29]

Matters came to a head in the 1969 general election. When polling closed on the mainland peninsula (West Malaysia) on 10 May, it emerged the Alliance had won less than half of the popular vote, although it was assured of 66 out of 104 Parliamentary seats available. Much of the losses came from the MCA, thus straining relations between the two parties. However, the Alliance was dealt an even larger blow on the state level, losing control of Kelantan, Perak, and Penang.[30]

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) declared a national emergency after being advised by the national government to do so. Parliament was suspended, with a National Operations Council (NOC) led by Deputy Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak of UMNO, taking over the government. Further polling in East Malaysia as a continuation of the general election was also postponed indefinitely. Although the Cabinet still met under the Tunku as Prime Minister, his role was largely symbolic, with Tun Razak taking over the role of chief executive.[31]

UMNO backbencher Mahathir Mohamad, who had lost his Parliamentary seat in the election, wrote a letter to the Tunku criticising his leadership. Mahathir organised a campaign with University of Malaya lecturer Raja Muktaruddin Daim, circulating his letter among the student bodies of local universities. Mass demonstrations broke out calling for "Malay sovereignty" and the Tunku's ousting. After rioting broke out in June, Home Affairs Minister Ismail Abdul Rahman and Tun Razak agreed to expel Mahathir and former Executive Secretary of UMNO Musa Hitam from the party for breaching party discipline.

The suspended elections in East Malaysia were held in 1970, and restored the Alliance government's two-thirds majority in parliament. On 31 August that year, the Tunku announced the national ideology of Rukunegara and his planned retirement as Prime Minister in favour of Tun Razak. He also stated Parliament would be restored the following year.[32]

The New Economic Policy

After Tun Razak succeeded the Tunku in 1970, he began asserting UMNO's leadership in the Alliance more strongly. When the Tunku led the coalition, he had always consulted Alliance leaders regarding policy—if an Alliance leader objected, the policy was not passed. Under Tun Razak, UMNO was the base of the Alliance and thus the government. The NOC which he led until Parliament reconvened consisted of 7 Malays, one Chinese and one Indian.[33]

In Tun Razak's cabinet, the two most powerful men other than him were Ismail Abdul Rahman and Ghazali Shafie, who had declared the Westminster-style Parliamentary system inappropriate for Malaysia. Tun Razak also readmitted to the party "ultras" who had been expelled, like Mahathir and Musa Hitam. Mahathir gained notoriety after his expulsion from UMNO by authoring The Malay Dilemma, a book promptly banned from Malaysia, which posited that the Malays are the definitive people of Malaysia, and thus deserved special rights as the sovereign people of the nation. It also controversially argued that the Malays needed affirmative action to overcome deficiencies in their genetic stock.[34]

Hussein Onn, son of UMNO founder Dato' Onn Ja'afar, soon became a rising star in UMNO. After Ismail died suddenly of a heart attack in 1973, Hussein Onn succeeded him as Deputy Prime Minister. In the cabinet reshuffle that promoted Hussein Onn, Mahathir was given the key post of Minister for Education.[35]

The Tun Razak government announced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1971. Its stated goal was to "eventually eradicate poverty... irrespective of race" through a "rapidly expanding economy" which emphasised to increase the Malays' share in the national economy to a reasonable portion between all the races. The NEP targeted a 30 per cent Malay share of the economy by 1990. The government contended that this would lead to a "just society" ("Masyarakat Adil"), the latter slogan being used to promote acceptance of the policy. Quotas in education and the civil service that the Constitution had explicitly provided for were expanded by the NEP, which also mandated government interference in the private sector. For instance, 30% of all shares in initial public offerings (IPOs) would be disbursed by the government to selective Bumiputras. The old civil service hiring quota of 4 Malays for every non-Malay's was effectively disregarded in practice; between 1969 and 1973, 98% of all new government employees were Malay. Five new universities were opened under the NEP, two of which were targeted to focus on the poor Malays and Muslim citizens.[36]

Tun Razak also began shoring up the government by bringing in several former opposition parties into the fold of the Alliance. Gerakan, PPP, PAS, and several former opposition parties in East Malaysia joined the coalition, which was renamed as Barisan Nasional. Barisan was formally registered as an organisation in 1974, the same year in which a general election was held.[37]

There had been much internal conflict in the National Front regarding the election; in 1973, Lim Keng Yaik and several supporters of his aggressive pro-Chinese stance left the MCA for Gerakan. This contributed to internal strife, as the MCA was no longer the sole representative of Chinese interests in the National Front.[38]

Discontent among student organisations in Malaysian universities soon posed a new problem for the UMNO-led government. However, Mahathir in his capacity as Minister for Education issued a stern warning to university students and faculty not to become involved in politics. However, after stories that children of rubber tappers had died after consuming poisonous wild yam due to poverty, university students reacted by staging the 1974 Baling demonstrations. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of over 1,000 students, including Anwar Ibrahim who wasdetained under the Internal Security Act. In 1975, parliament passed amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) which banned students from expressing support of or holding positions in any political party or trade union without written consent from the university's Vice-Chancellor.[39] The act also banned political demonstrations from being held on university campuses. In 1976, however, mass demonstrations were held at the MARA Institute of Technology, protesting the UUCA. Mahathir then threatened to revoke the scholarships of the students, most of whom relied on public support to pay their way through university.[40]

BN was also challenged in Sarawak after the 1974 election, which saw the Sarawak National Party (SNAP) led by James Wong become tied with the DAP as the largest opposition party in Parliament, both of them holding nine seats each. SNAP had campaigned against BN on a platform of opposing Chief Minister Abdul Rahman Ya'kub's pro-Malay policies, charging them with alienating the rural indigenous natives of Sarawak, such as the Iban. SNAP had been expelled from the Alliance in 1965 for supporting increased autonomy for Sarawak. In the aftermath of the election, Abdul Rahman ordered the detention of James Wong under the Sedition Act. SNAP elected a new leader, Leo Moggie, who secured the release of Wong and the entry of SNAP into BN in 1976.[41]

In Sabah, BN controlled the state government through the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO), which strongly backed UMNO's pro-Malay and pro-Islam policies. In 1973, Islam was made the official Sabah state religion (the official religion of Sabah was originally Christianity, as permitted by the agreement signed before the merger), and usage of indigenous languages such as those of the Kadazan people was discontinued in favour of the Malay language. The USNO Chief Minister, Mustapha Harun, was also known for favouring political patronage as a means of allocating valuable timber contracts, and living an extravagant lifestyle, being ferried to his A$1 million Queensland home by jets provided with Sabahan public funds.[42]

UMNO Baru (New UMNO)

Mahathir Mohamad

Further information: 1987 United Malays National Organisation leadership election and 1988 Malaysian constitutional crisis

On 24 April 1987, UMNO held its Annual General Assembly and triennial Party election. The then Prime Minister and party President, Mahathir Mohamad, faced his first party election in 12 years, having been elected unopposed since the 1975 UMNO election.

The politics of the Malays, particularly UMNO politics, had undergone a sea change in the first few years of the Mahathir stewardship, and the party presidency was challenged for the second time in 41 years. The first challenge was a dull affair in which Hussein Onn was opposed by a minor party official named Sulaiman Palestin. In fact, in the early 1950s, Tunku Abdul Rahman's presidency had also been challenged by C. M. Yusof, who later became the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, but Tunku was not properly considered an incumbent then, being only a care-taker president.

The 1987 contest was a vastly different matter. Mahathir was opposed by his very popular former Finance Minister, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. The press took to referring to Mahathir and his supporters as Team A, and Razaleigh's camp as Team B. Team B included then Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam, who was also the incumbent Deputy President of UMNO seeking re-election, as well as Datuk Suhaimi Kamaruddin, the former head of UMNO Youth and president of the Belia 4B youth organisation.[43]

Team B was critical of Mahathir's policies, arguing that the Malaysian New Economic Policy (NEP) had failed to benefit the poor Malays. It also criticised Mahathir's leadership style, alleging he acted unilaterally without consulting other leaders in UMNO and the Barisan Nasional. Team B was also perceived as less Islamist than Mahathir's faction.[44]

Mahathir claimed that the charges against him were groundless, and suggested that his opponents were fracturing Malay unity and were only motivated by greed.[44]

Eventually, Mahathir was returned to office. However, he was elected with such a small majority of 43 (761 against 718 votes) that questions were immediately raised about his mandate. Team B supporters, many of whom had been anticipating a victory of similar margins, suspected that the election had been fixed. The Team B candidate for Deputy President, Musa Hitam, had also been defeated by Ghafar Baba of Team A, while two of the three Vice-Presidents were Team A candidates. The Supreme Council comprised 16 Team A candidates and 9 Team B candidates.[45]

Allegations were made that several delegates who had voted were drawn from UMNO branches not properly registered. There were also several unproved allegations being bandied about that the balloting process had not been above board.[46]

Nevertheless, Razaleigh pledged to support Mahathir, provided that a "witch hunt" was not launched. However, Mahathir promptly purged the government cabinet of all Team B members, and launched similar reshuffles in state and local governments.[47]

On 25 June 1987, an appeal was filed by 12 of the UMNO delegates to have the assembly and the election of April 1987 declared null. After one of the delegates, Hussain bin Manap, withdrew unexpectedly in August from filing the appeal, the remaining litigants have since become famous as the "UMNO 11." Although Razaleigh and Musa Hitam were not among the plaintiffs, it was widely believed that Razaleigh was funding the appeal.[46]

After a series of interlocutory hearings over the discovery of documents that took more than seven months, the matter finally came before Justice Harun Hashim in the Kuala Lumpur High Court on 4 February 1988. The judge ruled that under the existing law he had no option but to find the party, UMNO, to be an unlawful society due to the existence of several unregistered branches—an illegal act under the Societies Act of 1966. The question of the Assembly itself being illegal therefore became academic.[48]

"'It is a very hard decision to declare UMNO unlawful,' said Justice Datuk Harun Hashim in his February 4 judgement. 'But the law was made by our Parliament and certainly UMNO was aware [of the Societies Act] because they were in the majority [in Parliament] at all times [when the law was made].' Under the 1966 Act, amended five times over the years, and most recently by Mahathir's government, each of the society's branches has to register separately with the Registrar...."[48]

The Tunku and former UMNO President Hussein Onn set up a new party called UMNO Malaysia, which claimed to be the successor to the old UMNO. UMNO Malaysia was supported mainly by members of the Team B faction from UMNO, but Mahathir was also invited to join the party leadership. However, the party collapsed after the Registrar of Societies refused to register it as a society without providing an explanation.[49]

Mahathir showed no interest in reviving UMNO, and instead he set in motion the machinery to form a new surrogate party, and in due course, registered a party formally called Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu (Baru) or UMNO (New) a week after UMNO Malaysia's registration was rejected. Eventually the suffix "(New)" was dropped, and UMNO (Baru) became both the de facto and de jure successor of UMNO (with the old UMNO's assets handed over).[50] Most of its leaders, however, were selected from Team A of the old UMNO, with Team B ignored.[51]

In 10th general election in 1999, rocked by the arrest and trial of former UMNO deputy Anwar Ibrahim and the subsequent formation of the Barisan Alternatif opposition coalition, UMNO's share dipped to 54% of the vote and 102 out of 144 seats.

Post-Mahathir

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi served as the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2003-2009.

Najib Tun Razak served as the 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 2009-2018.

After Mahathir stepped down as President of UMNO in 2003, he was replaced by his designated successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who by virtue of his new position also became Prime Minister of Malaysia. Najib Razak, the son of Tun Abdul Razak, took over as the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.

In the 11th general election in 2004, Barisan Nasional, under Abdullah's leadership, enjoyed a landslide victory. However, in the 12th general election in 2008, the coalition for the first time fell short of a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. UMNO Chief Ministers were ousted in the states of Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah. As a result, Abdullah resigned as President of UMNO and Prime Minister in 2009. He was succeeded by Najib.

Under Najib's leadership, UMNO gained a total of 9 seats in the 13th general election and retook the state of Kedah.

On 9 May 2018, Mahathir and the Pakatan Harapan coalition won the 14th General Election ending UMNO's 61 year long rule as part of the Alliance and later Barisan Nasional coalition.[52] UMNO experienced a mass exodus of rank-and-file members, state chiefs, as well as Members of Parliament in favour of Mahathir's Bersatu and regionalist parties such as Parti Warisan Sabah in the months after the election.[53][54][55]

In September 2019, UMNO decided to form a pact with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) called Muafakat Nasional. Its main purpose is to unite the Malay Muslim communities for electoral purposes.[56] There is however no formal agreement with the other parties of Barisan Nasional, although there are calls for Barisan Nasional to migrate to Muafakat Nasional.[57][58] Barisan Nasional continued to function as a coalition of four parties comprising UMNO, MCA, MIC and PBRS, but aligned themselves with Perikatan Nasional to form a new government in March 2020 after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government.[59]

On 23 February 2020,Muafakat Nasional pact of UMNO and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) held extraordinary meetings in Janda Baik, Pahang, UMNO's supreme council at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).[60]

UMNO President, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi went to the Istana Negara in the evening to seek an audience with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. After the meeting, several opposition party leaders, including UMNO Vice President Ismail Sabri Yaakob joined Azmin's supporters at Sheraton Hotel.[61]

On 25 February, Following the first round of interviews, UMNO and PAS revealed that they have withdrawn their supports given earlier for Mahathir to continue as prime minister, and had instead called for parliament dissolution.[62] It was previously reported that as all political factions voiced their support for Mahathir, he was about to establish a "unity government" that the two parties could not agree with.[63][64] Annuar Musa, UMNO's secretary-general, said the basis of negotiations with Mahathir was that UMNO and PAS would lend their support to form an alternative coalition without DAP. Therefore, both PAS and UMNO declared their support for a snap election instead.[65]

On 28 February, All the Muafakat Nasional MPs signed the new SD proposing Muhyiddin Yassin to be the 8th Prime Minister.[66]

PPBM President Muhyiddin Yassin and his allies including party leaders from UMNO, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), and Homeland Solidarity Party (STAR) had an audience with the Agong.[67][68] He also announced that his coalition consisting of Bersatu, UMNO, PAS, PBRS, GPS, and STAR will be called Perikatan Nasional.

On 30 June, Salleh Said Keruak, former Sabah Minister Chief & former UMNO member canceled his application to join PKR after thinking deeply and taking into account today's political landscape including PKR's internal turmoil. He said, the decision was made last April and with the cancellation he remained non-partisan since leaving UMNO in 2018. Previously, Salleh applied to join PKR in October last year.[69]

On 24 July Zakaria Arshad, former CEO of FGV announced his departure from AMANAH to join UMNO. He said, the decision was made after he saw that the vision and objectives of Amanah were getting lost and not in line with his current position.[70]

In Muhyiddin cabinet, which formed on 10 March 2020, six UMNO MP's became Ministers & eight UMNO MP's became Deputy Ministers.

Ideology

UMNO overtly represents the Malays of Malaysia, although any Bumiputra (indigenous Malaysian, a category which includes people such as the non-Malay and usually non-Muslim Kadazan, Iban, Dayak, etc. of East Malaysia) may join the party. The party propagates Ketuanan Melayu, the concept that the Bumiputra, including ethnic Malays, enjoy a special status within the country by virtue of their earlier settlement of the lands that now form Malaysia and as a result of the recognition of Malays in Article 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia.[71]

Presidents of the United Malays National Organisation

With the exception of Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Onn Jaafar, every President of the UMNO has also served as Prime Minister of Malaysia.

See also: United Malays National Organisation leadership elections

#	President		Term start	Term end	Election results
1		Onn Jaafar	11 May 1946	25 August 1951	1946-49 unopposed 1950 Onn Jaafar - 66 Mahmud Mahyudin - 3
2		Tunku Abdul Rahman	25 August 1951	23 January 1971	1951 Tunku Abdul Rahman - 57 Chik Mohamad Yusuf Sheikh Abdul Rahman - 11 Ahmad Fuad Hassan - 7 1952-69 unopposed
3		Abdul Razak Hussein	25 June 1972	14 January 1976	1972 unopposed 1975 unopposed
4		Hussein Onn	15 September 1978	28 June 1981	1978 Hussein Onn - 898 Sulaiman Palestin - 250
5		Mahathir Mohamad	28 June 1981	31 October 2003	1981 unopposed 1984 unopposed 1987 Mahathir Mohamad - 761 Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah - 718 1990 unopposed 1993 unopposed 1996 unopposed 2000 unopposed
6		Abdullah Ahmad Badawi	23 September 2004	26 March 2009	2004 unopposed
7		Najib Razak	26 March 2009	12 May 2018	2009 unopposed 2013 unopposed
8		Ahmad Zahid Hamidi	30 June 2018	Incumbent	2018 Ahmad Zahid Hamidi - 39,197 Khairy Jamaluddin - 32,592 Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah - 20,462

Structure and membership

Current office bearer

Official source

Permanent Chairman: Badruddin Amiruldin Deputy Permanent Chairman: Rizuan Abd Hamid President: Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Deputy President: Mohamad Hasan Noraini Ahmad (Women Chief) Vice-President: Ismail Sabri Yaakob Mohamed Khaled Nordin Mahdzir Khalid Youth Chief: Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki Women's Youth Chief: Zahida Zarik Khan Secretary-General: Ahmad Maslan Treasurer-General: Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor Information Chief: Shahril Sufian Hamdan Executive Secretary: Mohd Sumali Reduan State Chairman: Perlis : Shahidan Kassim Kedah : Jamil Khir Baharom Kelantan : Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub Terengganu : Ahmad Said Penang : Reezal Merican Naina Merican Perak : Saarani Mohamad Pahang : Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail Selangor : Noh Omar Federal Territory : Johari Abdul Ghani Negeri Sembilan : Mohamad Hasan Melaka : Abdul Rauf Yusoh Johor : Hasni Mohammad Sabah : Bung Moktar Radin

Supreme Council Members (elected): Zambry Abdul Kadir Shamsul Anuar Nasarah Reezal Merican Naina Merican Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin Razali Ibrahim Abdul Rahman Dahlan Azalina Othman Said Md Alwi Che Ahmad Bung Moktar Radin Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin Noh Omar Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim Ahmad Shabery Cheek Jamil Khir Baharom Fathul Bari Mat Jahya Azian Osman Khaidhirah Abu Zahar Ahmad Maslan Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub Jalaluddin Alias Hasni Mohammad Zahidi Zainul Abidin Suraya Yaacob Supreme Council Members (appointed): Norliza Abdul Rahim Shahril Sufian Hamdan Nurul Amal Mohd Fauzi Tajuddin Abdul Rahman Johan Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Mohamad Armand Azha Abu Hanifah Rosni Sohar Rais Mohd Yassin Mohd Puad Zarkashi Shaik Hussein Mydin Yaakub Khan Mohd Razlan Muhammad Rafii Annuar Musa Ismail Lasim Supreme Council Members (in attending): Musa Sheikh Fadzir Saarani Mohamad Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail Johari Abdul Ghani Abdul Rauf Yusoh

Elected representatives

Dewan Negara (Senate)

Senators

Main article: Members of the Dewan Negara, 14th Malaysian Parliament

1. Abd. Halim Abd. Samad – appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
2. Bashir Alias – appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
3. Ibrahim Shah Abu Shah – appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
4. Ismail Ibrahim – appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
5. Kamarudin Abdun – elected by the Perlis State Legislative Assembly
6. Rahimah Mahamad – appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
7. Sabani Mat – appointed by the Perlis State Legislative Assembly
8. Sopiah Sharif – appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong
9. Siti Fatimah Yahaya – appointed by the Pahang State Legislative Assembly
10. Zahari Sarip – elected by the Johor State Legislative Assembly

Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives)

Members of Parliament of the 14th Malaysian Parliament

Main article: Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 14th Malaysian Parliament

UMNO has 39 MPs in the House of Representatives.

State	No.	Parliament Constituency	Member	Party
Perlis	P001	Padang Besar	Zahidi Zainul Abidin		UMNO
	P003	Arau	Dr. Shahidan Kassim		UMNO
Kedah	P007	Padang Terap	Mahdzir Khalid		UMNO
	P016	Baling	Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim		UMNO
Kelantan	P026	Ketereh	Annuar Musa		UMNO
	P029	Machang	Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub		UMNO
	P032	Gua Musang	Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah		UMNO
Terengganu	P033	Besut	Idris Jusoh		UMNO
Penang	P041	Kepala Batas	Reezal Merican Naina Merican		UMNO
Perak	P054	Gerik	Hasbullah Osman		UMNO
	P055	Lenggong	Shamsul Anuar Nasarah		UMNO
	P061	Padang Rengas	Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz		UMNO
	P067	Kuala Kangsar	Mastura Mohd. Yazid		UMNO
	P069	Parit	Mohd. Nizar Zakaria		UMNO
	P073	Pasir Salak	Tajuddin Abdul Rahman		UMNO
	P075	Bagan Datuk	Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi		UMNO
Pahang	P078	Cameron Highlands	Ramli Mohd. Nor		UMNO
	P079	Lipis	Abdul Rahman Mohamad		UMNO
	P081	Jerantut	Ahmad Nazlan Idris		UMNO
	P084	Paya Besar	Mohd. Shahar Abdullah		UMNO
	P085	Pekan	Mohd. Najib Abdul Razak		UMNO
	P086	Maran	Ismail Abdul Muttalib		UMNO
	P087	Kuala Krau	Ismail Mohamed Said		UMNO
	P090	Bera	Ismail Sabri Yaakob		UMNO
	P091	Rompin	Hasan Arifin		UMNO
Selangor	P095	Tanjong Karang	Noh Omar		UMNO
Putrajaya	P125	Putrajaya	Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor		UMNO
Negeri Sembilan	P126	Jelebu	Jalaluddin Alias		UMNO
	P127	Jempol	Mohd. Salim Shariff		UMNO
	P131	Rembau	Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar		UMNO
Malacca	P139	Jasin	Ahmad Hamzah		UMNO
Johor	P147	Parit Sulong	Noraini Ahmad		UMNO
	P153	Sembrong	Hishammuddin Hussein		UMNO
	P155	Tenggara	Adham Baba		UMNO
	P156	Kota Tinggi	Halimah Mohamed Sadique		UMNO
	P157	Pengerang	Azalina Othman Said		UMNO
	P164	Pontian	Ahmad Maslan		UMNO
Sabah	P176	Kimanis	Mohamad Alamin		UMNO
	P187	Kinabatangan	Bung Moktar Radin		UMNO
Total	Perlis (2), Kedah (2), Kelantan (3), Terengganu (1), Penang (1), Perak (7), Pahang (9), Selangor (1), F.T. Putrajaya (1), Negeri Sembilan (3), Malacca (1), Johor (6), Sabah (2)

Dewan Undangan Negeri (State Legislative Assembly)

Main article: List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (2018–)

Pahang State Legislative Assembly 24 / 42 Perlis State Legislative Assembly 9 / 15 Malacca State Legislative Assembly 13 / 28 Perak State Legislative Assembly 25 / 59

Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly 14 / 36 Terengganu State Legislative Assembly 10 / 33 Johor State Legislative Assembly 14 / 56 Kelantan State Legislative Assembly 7 / 45

Selangor State Legislative Assembly 5 / 56 Kedah State Legislative Assembly 2 / 36 Penang State Legislative Assembly 2 / 40 Sabah State Legislative Assembly 1 / 65

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly 0 / 82

State	No.	Parliament Constituency	Member	Party
Perlis	N2	Beseri	Ruzaini Rais		UMNO
	N3	Chuping	Asmaiza Ahmad		UMNO
	N4	Chuping	Siti Berenee Yahaya		UMNO
	N5	Santan	Azizan Sulaiman		UMNO
	N6	Bintong	Azlan Man		UMNO
	N10	Kayang	Hamizan Hassan		UMNO
	N11	Pauh	Rozieana Ahmad		UMNO
	N12	Tambun Tulang	Ismail Kassim		UMNO
	N14	Simpang Empat	Nurulhisham Yaakob		UMNO
Kedah	N19	Sungai Tiang	Suraya Yaacob		UMNO
	N36	Bandar Baharu	Norsabrina Mohd. Noor		UMNO
Kelantan	N25	Kok Lanas	Md. Alwi Che Ahmad		UMNO
	N27	Gual Ipoh	Bakri Mustapha		UMNO
	N36	Bukit Bunga	Mohd. Adhan Kechik		UMNO
	N38	Kuala Balah	Abd Aziz Derashid		UMNO
	N43	Nenggiri	Ab. Aziz Yusoff		UMNO
	N44	Paloh	Amran Ariffin		UMNO
	N45	Galas	Mohd. Syahbuddin Hashim		UMNO
Terengganu	N1	Kuala Besut	Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abd. Raham		UMNO
	N3	Jertih	Muhammad Pehimi Yusof		UMNO
	N4	Hulu Besut	Nawi Mohamad		UMNO
	N6	Permaisuri	Abd. Halim Jusoh		UMNO
	N7	Langkap	Sabri Mohd. Noor		UMNO
	N8	Batu Rakit	Bazlan Abd Rahman		UMNO
	N11	Seberang Takir	Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman		UMNO
	N12	Telemung	Rozi Mamat		UMNO
	N25	Bukit Besi	Roslee Daud		UMNO
	N30	Kijal	Ahmad Said		UMNO
Penang	N4	Permatang Berangan	Nor Hafizah Othman		UMNO
	N5	Sungai Dua	Muhamad Yusoff Mohd. Noor		UMNO
Perak	N1	Pengkalan Hulu	Aznel Ibrahim		UMNO
	N2	Telemung	Salbiah Mohamed		UMNO
	N3	Kenering	Mohd Tarmizi Idris		UMNO
	N4	Kota Tampan	Saarani Mohammad		UMNO
	N7	Batu Kurau	Muhammad Ami Zakria		UMNO
	N10	Alor Pangsu	Sham Mat Sahat		UMNO
	N12	Selinsing	Mohamad Noor Dawoo		UMNO
	N13	Kuala Sepetang	Mohd. Kamaruddin Abu Bakar		UMNO
	N14	Changkat Jering	Ahmad Saidi Mohamad Daud		UMNO
	N15	Trong	Jamilah Zakaria		UMNO
	N19	Chenderoh	Zainun Mat Nor		UMNO
	N20	Lubok Merbau	Jurij Jalaluddin		UMNO
	N21	Lintang	Mohd Zolkafly Harun		UMNO
	N34	Bukit Chandan	Maslin Sham Razman		UMNO
	N35	Manong	Mohamed Zuraimi Razali		UMNO
	N36	Pengkalan Baharu	Abd. Manap Hashim		UMNO
	N39	Belanja	Khairudin Abu Hanipah		UMNO
	N40	Bota	Khairul Shahril Mohamed		UMNO
	N48	Ayer Kuning	Samsudin Abu Hassan		UMNO
	N50	Kampong Gajah	Wan Norashikin Wan Noordin		UMNO
	N52	Pangkor	Zambry Abdul Kadir		UMNO
	N53	Rungkup	Shahrul Zaman Yahya		UMNO
	N54	Hutan Melintang	Khairuddin Tarmizi		UMNO
	N56	Changkat Jong	Mohd. Azhar Jamaluddin		UMNO
	N58	Slim	Vacant		UMNO
Pahang	N2	Jelai	Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail		UMNO
	N3	Padang Tengku	Mustapa Long		UMNO
	N5	Benta	Mohd. Soffi Abd. Razak		UMNO
	N6	Batu Talam	Abd Aziz Mat Kiram		UMNO
	N8	Dong	Shahruddin Ab. Moin		UMNO
	N11	Pulau Tawar	Nazri Ngah		UMNO
	N16	Inderapura	Shafik Fauzan Sharif		UMNO
	N17	Sungai Lembing	Md. Sohaimi Mohamed Shah		UMNO
	N18	Lepar	Abd. Rahim Muda		UMNO
	N20	Pulau Manis	Khairuddin Mahmud		UMNO
	N21	Peramu Jaya	Sh. Mohamed Puzi Sh. Ali		UMNO
	N22	Bebar	Mohd. Fakhruddin Mohd. Ariff		UMNO
	N23	Chini	Mohd Sharim Md Zain		UMNO
	N25	Kuala Sentul	Shahaniza Shamsuddin		UMNO
	N27	Jenderak	Mohamed Jaafar		UMNO
	N28	Kerdau	Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad		UMNO
	N31	Lanchang	Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin		UMNO
	N32	Kuala Semantan	Nor Azmi Mat Ludin		UMNO
	N36	Pelangai	Adnan Yaakob		UMNO
	N37	Guai	Norol Azali Sulaiman		UMNO
	N39	Kemayan	Mohd. Fadil Osman		UMNO
	N40	Bukit Ibam	Samsiah Arshad		UMNO
	N41	Muadzam Shah	Razali Kassim		UMNO
	N42	Tioman	Mohd. Johari Hussain		UMNO
Selangor	N1	Sungai Air Tawar	Rizam Ismail		UMNO
	N3	Sungai Panjang	Mohd. Imran Tamrin		UMNO
	N5	Hulu Bernam	Rosni Sohar		UMNO
	N8	Sungai Burong	Mohd.Shamsudin Lias		UMNO
	N24	Semenyih	Zakaria Hanafi		UMNO
Negeri Sembilan	N2	Pertang	Noor Azmi Yusuf		UMNO
	N3	Sungai Lui	Mohd Razi Mohd Ali		UMNO
	N5	Serting	Shamsulkahar Mod. Deli		UMNO
	N6	Palong	Mustafa Nagoor		UMNO
	N15	Juasseh	Ismail Lasim		UMNO
	N16	Seri Menanti	Abdul Samad Ibrahim		UMNO
	N17	Senaling	Adnan Abu Hasan		UMNO
	N19	Johol	Saiful Yazan Sulaiman		UMNO
	N26	Chembong	Zaifulbahri Idris		UMNO
	N27	Rantau	Mohamad Hasan		UMNO
	N28	Kota	Awaludin Said		UMNO
	N31	Bagan Pinang	Tun Hairuddin Abu Bakar		UMNO
	N32	Linggi	Abdul Rahman Mohd. Redza		UMNO
	N34	Gemas	Abdul Razak Said		UMNO
	N35	Gemencheh	Mohd. Isam Mohd. Isa		UMNO
Melaka	N1	Kuala Linggi	Ismail Othman		UMNO
	N2	Tanjung Bidara	Md. Rawi Mahmud		UMNO
	N3	Ayer Limau	Amiruddin Yusop		UMNO
	N4	Lendu	Sulaiman Md Ali		UMNO
	N5	Taboh Naning	Latipah Omar		UMNO
	N10	Asahan	Abdul Ghafar Atan		UMNO
	N11	Sungai Udang	Idris Haron		UMNO
	N12	Pantai Kundor	Nor Azman Hassan		UMNO
	N18	Ayer Molek	Rahmad Mariman		UMNO
	N25	Rim	Ghazale Muhamad		UMNO
	N26	Serkam	Zaidi Attan		UMNO
	N27	Merlimau	Roslan Ahmad		UMNO
	N28	Sungai Rambai	Hasan Abd. Rahman		UMNO
Johor	N1	Buloh Kasap	Zahari Sarip		UMNO
	N16	Sungai Balang	Zaiton Ismail		UMNO
	N18	Sri Medan	Zulkarnain Kamisan		UMNO
	N20	Semarang	Samsol Bari Jamali		UMNO
	N22	Pasir Raja	Nor Rashidah Ramli		UMNO
	N25	Rengit	Ayub Jamil		UMNO
	N26	Machap	Abd. Taib Abu Bakar		UMNO
	N27	Layang-Layang	Onn Hafiz Ghazi		UMNO
	N34	Panti	Hahasrin Hashim		UMNO
	N35	Pasir Raja	Rashidah Ismail		UMNO
	N38	Penawar	Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain		UMNO
	N39	Tanjung Suarat	Syed Sis Syed A. Rahman		UMNO
	N53	Benut	Hasni Mohammad		UMNO
	N56	Kukup	Md. Othman Yusof		UMNO
Sabah	N42	Sungai Sibuga	Musa Aman		UMNO
Total	Perlis (9), Kedah (2), Kelantan (7), Terengganu (10), Penang (2), Perak (25), Pahang (24), Selangor (5), Negeri Sembilan (15), Malacca (13), Johor (14), Sabah (1)

General election results

Election	Total seats won	Total votes	Share of votes	Outcome of election	Election leader
1955	34 / 52	589,933	58.90%	34 seats; Governing coalition (Alliance Party)	Tunku Abdul Rahman
1959	52 / 104	553,160	35.75%	18 seats; Governing coalition (Alliance Party)	Tunku Abdul Rahman
1964	59 / 104	458,854	38.10%	7 seats; Governing coalition (Alliance Party)	Tunku Abdul Rahman
1969	52 / 144			7 seats; Governing coalition (Alliance Party)	Tunku Abdul Rahman
1974	62 / 144			10 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Abdul Razak Hussein
1978	70 / 154			8 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Hussein Onn
1982	70 / 154			0 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Mahathir Mohamad
1986	83 / 177	1,474,063	31.06%	13 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Mahathir Mohamad
1990	71 / 180			12 seat; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Mahathir Mohamad
1995	89 / 192			18 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Mahathir Mohamad
1999	72 / 193			17 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Mahathir Mohamad
2004	109 / 219	2,483,249	35.9%	37 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2008	79 / 222	2,381,725	29.33%	30 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
2013	88 / 222	3,252,484	29.45%	9 seats; Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Najib Razak
2018	54 / 222	2,548,251	21.10%	34 seats; Opposition coalition (Barisan Nasional)	Najib Razak

State election results

State election	State Legislative Assembly
	Perlis State Legislative Assembly	Kedah State Legislative Assembly	Kelantan State Legislative Assembly	Terengganu State Legislative Assembly	Penang State Legislative Assembly	Perak State Legislative Assembly	Pahang State Legislative Assembly	Selangor State Legislative Assembly	Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly	Malacca State Legislative Assembly	Johor State Legislative Assembly	Sabah State Legislative Assembly	Total won / Total contested
2/3 majority	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3	2 / 3
1959	10 / 12	18 / 24	1 / 30	5 / 24	10 / 24	21 / 40	17 / 24	14 / 28	11 / 24	13 / 20	20 / 32
1964	9 / 12	18 / 24	8 / 30	20 / 24	10 / 24	22 / 40	17 / 24	13 / 28	14 / 24	13 / 20	20 / 32
1969	9 / 12	12 / 24	10 / 30	12 / 24	4 / 24	18 / 40	16 / 24	12 / 28	11 / 24	11 / 20	19 / 32		54 / 68
1974	8 / 12	12 / 26	13 / 36	18 / 28	9 / 27	22 / 42	23 / 32	19 / 33	15 / 24	13 / 20	20 / 32
1978	10 / 12	14 / 26	22 / 36	27 / 28	9 / 27	23 / 42	24 / 32	19 / 33	15 / 24	13 / 20	20 / 32
1982	9 / 12	19 / 26	22 / 36	22 / 28	10 / 27	24 / 42	24 / 32	20 / 33	15 / 24	13 / 20	20 / 32
1986	12 / 14	20 / 28	28 / 39	29 / 32	12 / 33	26 / 46	25 / 33	26 / 42	18 / 28	12 / 20	22 / 36
1990	12 / 14	22 / 28	0 / 39	22 / 32	12 / 33	27 / 46	25 / 33	26 / 42	18 / 28	12 / 20	21 / 36
1994												19 / 48
1995	13 / 15	26 / 36	6 / 43	24 / 32	12 / 33	30 / 52	28 / 38	30 / 48	20 / 32	16 / 25	25 / 40
1999	10 / 15	16 / 36	2 / 43	4 / 32	10 / 33	26 / 52	21 / 38	26 / 48	20 / 32	16 / 25	25 / 40	24 / 48
2004	12 / 15	23 / 36	21 / 45	27 / 32	14 / 40	34 / 59	31 / 42	35 / 56	22 / 36	18 / 28	33 / 56	32 / 60
2008	12 / 15	12 / 36	6 / 45	23 / 32	11 / 40	27 / 59	29 / 42	18 / 56	19 / 36	18 / 28	32 / 56	32 / 60
2013	12 / 15	19 / 36	12 / 45	17 / 32	10 / 40	30 / 59	28 / 42	12 / 56	21 / 36	17 / 28	32 / 56	31 / 60
2018	9 / 15	3 / 36	8 / 45	10 / 32	2 / 40	25 / 59	24 / 42	4 / 56	15 / 36	13 / 28	14 / 56	11 / 60	139 / 587

Controversies

Challenge to UMNO's right to exist

Every year, UMNO is obliged to hold the General Assembly to extend their rule according to the Clauses set by the Registry of Societies (RoS) Malaysia. And once every five years, UMNO is obliged to appoint their highest bodies. The last time UMNO held the election of the highest division and council level was on 19 October 2013. So the new election was supposed to be held on 19 April 2018. Their application for the postponement of the election until 19 October 2019 has to be approved by RoS in accordance with Clause 10.16. But critics have claimed that this is illegal and supposedly the existence of an UMNO organisation is banned.[72][73]

1MDB

Media reports from June 2018 indicated that the MACC froze bank accounts associated with UMNO, purportedly in relation to investigations into the 1MDB controversy.[74]

Notes

1. In 1972, the investment arm of UMNO bought out the Malaysian operations of Straits Times Press, which included Berita Harian. The bought over publications were placed under the management of the New Straits Times Press, which is also the name of its main publication [1]
2. belongs to the same parent company as Berita Harian.

References

1. Edge 2004, p. 185. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEdge2004 (help)
2. Helen Ting. "The Politics of National Identity in West Malaysia: Continued Mutation or Critical Transition? [The Politics of Ambiguity]" (PDF). Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. J-Stage. p. 3/21 [33] and 5/21 [35]. UMNO came into being in 1946 under the impetus of the Anti-Malayan Union Movement based on this ideological understanding of ketuanan Melayu. Its founding president, Dato’ Onn Jaafar, once said that the UMNO movement did not adhere to any ideology other than Melayuisme, defined by scholar Ariffin Omar as “the belief that the interests of the bangsa Melayu must be upheld over all else”. Malay political dominance is a fundamental reality of Malaysian politics, notwithstanding the fact that the governing coalition since independence, the Alliance [subsequently expanded to form the Barisan Nasional or literally, the “National Front”], is multiethnic in its composition.
3. Jinna Tay; Graeme Turner (24 July 2015). Television Histories in Asia: Issues and Contexts. Routledge. pp. 127–. ISBN 978-1-135-00807-9.
4. Jan Senkyr (2013). "Political Awakening in Malaysia". KAS International Reports (7): 73–74. the UMNO can be described as a national conservative Islamic party
5. Timothy J. Lomperis, September 1996, 'From People's War to People's Rule: Insurgency, Intervention, and the Lessons of Vietnam', page 212, ISBN 0807822736
6. UMNO Online. UMNO's Constitution: Foundation and Goals. From: "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. UMNO Online. UMNO's Constitution: Goal 3.5. From:"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
8. UMNO Online. UMNO's Constitution: Goal 3.3. From:"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Umno elections historic, ensure party remains relevant, says Zahid - Nation | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
10. "Malaysia : History | The Commonwealth".
11. Adam, Ramlah binti, Samuri, Abdul Hakim bin & Fadzil, Muslimin bin (2004). Sejarah Tingkatan 3, pp. 60–65, 75. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. ISBN 983-62-8285-8.
12. Joseph M. Fernando (18 June 2007). "The rebel in Onn Jaafar". The Star. The Malaysian Bar. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
13. Keat Gin Ooi, ed. (2004). Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, from Angkor Wat to East Timor, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 138. ISBN 9781576077702.
14. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 124, 135.
15. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, pp. 137–140.
16. "About MIC: History" Archived 20 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 January 2006.
17. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 140.
18. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 103–107.
19. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, pp. 148, 151.
20. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 153–155.
21. Ooi, Jeff (2005). "Social Contract: 'Utusan got the context wrong'" Archived 30 October 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 November 2005.
22. Goh, Cheng Teik (1994). Malaysia: Beyond Communal Politics, p. 18. Pelanduk Publications. ISBN 967-978-475-4.
23. Shuid, Mahdi & Yunus, Mohd. Fauzi (2001). Malaysian Studies, p. 29. Longman. ISBN 983-74-2024-3.
24. Shuid & Yunus, p. 31.
25. Mathews, Philip (February 2014). Chronicle of Malaysia: Fifty Years of Headline News, 1963–2013. Editions Didier Millet. p. 29. ISBN 978-967-10617-4-9.
26. Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, pp. 214, 217, 220, 222, 223.
27. Rahman, Tunku Abdul (1965). "A dream shattered" Archived 8 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 February 2006.
28. Ooi, Jeff (2005). "Perils of the sitting duck" Archived 28 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 November 2005.
29. Means, Gordon P. (1991). Malaysian Politics: The Second Generation, pp. 3, 5, 29. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-588988-6.
30. Means, p. 6, 7.
31. Means, p. 8.
32. Means, pp. 11, 12.
33. Means, pp. 20, 21.
34. Means, pp. 20–22.
35. Means, pp. 22, 23.
36. Means, pp. 23–27.
37. Means, pp. 29, 30.
38. Means, p. 31.
39. "The story behind some of Malaysia's biggest street rallies". Retrieved 25 March 2020.
40. Means, pp. 36, 37.
41. Means, pp. 39, 40.
42. Means, pp. 41, 42.
43. Means, p. 201.
44. Means, p. 202.
45. Means, p. 204.
46. Means, p. 206.
47. Means, p. 205.
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Sources

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• Kamarudin, Raja Petra (7 November 2005). "The stuff politicians are made of". Malaysia Today.
• Pillai, M.G.G. (3 November 2005). "National Front parties were not formed to fight for Malaysian independence". Malaysia Today.
• Ibrahim Mahmood (1981) Sejarah Perjuangan UMNO, Penerbitan Antara Kuala Lumpur
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External links

• Library resources in your library and in other libraries about United Malays National Organisation
• Official website