Zahid: Party’s inclusion important to strengthen unity in coalition
KUALA LUMPUR: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is back in Barisan Nasional.
Announcing this, Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the party has been formally recognised as a Barisan component by the Registrar of Societies (ROS).
He said the official recognition will be conducted at the coalition’s supreme council meeting in Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday.
“Here, I hold a letter from the ROS dated Nov 25, 2025, which states that PPP is a party within Barisan.
“No party can now question PPP’s legitimate standing within Barisan,” he said when officiating PPP’s 72nd annual general assembly, Bernama reported.
PPP had left Barisan in the aftermath of the 2018 general election.
With this, Barisan’s core membership now comprises five parties – Umno, MIC, MCA, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) and PPP.
At a press conference, Ahmad Zahid said the recognition affirmed PPP as a full member of Barisan and that the official announcement was timed for the party’s AGM.
“My colleagues and I intentionally delayed this announcement because we were waiting for the PPP annual meet to be held.”
He said PPP’s inclusion was important to ensure stability and strengthen unity among Barisan component parties.
On another matter, Ahmad Zahid said his remarks on DAP made at the Umno General Assembly were not intended to suggest internal divisions within the party.
He said he was explaining to Umno members that responses to statements by youth chief Datuk Dr Muhammad Akmal Saleh was not DAP’s official stance but were views of certain party members.
“What I said in my speech was meant to explain that there are contradictory statements among a small group of DAP leaders regarding the issues raised,” he said.
During his winding-up speech at the Umno general assembly yesterday, Ahmad Zahid was reported to have said that conflicting statements from DAP’s leadership had come from a so-called “Team B”.
“If that statement has offended DAP, I withdraw the reference. It was never my intention to suggest that there are two camps within the party,” he said.
At the opening of the Selangor DAP annual convention, secretary-general Anthony Loke denied that he had mentioned the existence of a “Team B” within DAP allegedly issuing statements contrary to the party’s leadership.
