Zahid must rethink his position, says Kedah BN man

GEORGE TOWN: After being wiped out in Kedah, losing all 15 seats it contested, Umno needs a total revamp, says the state Barisan Nasional elections operations director.

Datuk Othman Aziz (pic) said party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also has to re- assess his position, adding that Umno has to look at the bigger picture as to where it is heading.

“For months, we have been telling the party leadership of the possible backlash from voters over the cooperation with Pakatan Harapan, especially DAP, but to no avail – and we have ended up here today,” he said.

The Jerlun Umno chief, however, stopped short of calling for Ahmad Zahid’s resignation, saying that he is not the state Umno chief.

“Zahid needs to relook his position in the party if he is one of the factors for the party’s total rout,” Othman said.

He said it is clear from the losses that there was a protest by voters who did not turn up to vote while others went all out to vote for Perikatan Nasional.

Pakatan, however, won three of the 21 seats it contested in the state.

In Penang, where Barisan won only two of the six state seats it contested, state Umno chief Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said members are frustrated with what had happened and a post-mortem will be conducted.

“I can’t tell you the reason or point fingers over the defeat until we get feedback during the meeting next week, “ he said.

Barisan won the Bertam and Sungai Acheh seats on the mainland.