United Malays National Organisation | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Malay name | Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu |
| Abbreviation | UMNO /امنو PEKEMBAR /ڤکمبر |
| President | Ahmad Zahid Hamidi |
| Chairperson | Badruddin Amiruldin |
| Secretary-General | Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki |
| First Deputy President | Mohamad Hasan |
| Second Deputy President (Women Chief) | Noraini Ahmad |
| Vice Presidents | Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail Mohamed Khaled Nordin Johari Abdul Ghani |
| Youth Chief | Muhamad Akmal Saleh (Pemuda) Nurul Amal Mohd Fauzi (Puteri) |
| Treasurer | Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor |
| Founder | Onn Jaafar |
| Founded | 11 May 1946 |
| Legalised | 11 May 1946 13 February 1988 (UMNO Baru) |
| Preceded by | United Malays Organisation USNO (in Sabah) BERJAYA (in Sabah) |
| Headquarters | Tingkat 38, Menara Dato’ Onn,Putra World Trade Centre, Jalan Tun Ismail, 50480Kuala Lumpur |
| Newspaper | New Straits Times[nb 1] Berita Harian[nb 2] Harian Metro[nb 3] |
| Youth wing | Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO |
| Women's wing | Wanita UMNO |
| Women's youth wing | Pergerakan Puteri UMNO |
| Student wing | Kelab Mahasiswa UMNO |
| Membership(2022) | 3,021,845[3] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| National affiliation | Alliance(1952–1973) Barisan Nasional(since 1973) |
| Colours | Red and white |
| Slogan | Bersatu, Bersetia, Berkhidmat (United, Loyal, In Service) |
| Anthem | Bersatu, Bersetia, Berkhidmat |
| Dewan Negara | 10 / 70 |
| Dewan Rakyat | 26 / 222 |
| Dewan Undangan Negeri | 103 / 611 |
| Chief Minister of states | 4 / 13 |
| Sang Saka Bangsa | |
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| Website | |
www umno-online | |
1. Red and white have been used since before independence. | |
| This article is part ofa series on the |
| Politics of Malaysia |
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TheUnited Malays National Organisation (UMNO;Malay:Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu (PEKEMBAR)), is anationalistright-wing[7] political party inMalaysia. As the oldest national political party within Malaysia (since its inception in 1946), UMNO has been known as Malaysia's "Grand Old Party".[8]
UMNO is a founding and the principal dominant member of theBarisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which taken along with its predecessorAlliance, had been the main governing party of Malaysia from theindependence of Malaya in 1957 until its defeat in the2018 general election. From 1957 to 2018, everyPrime Minister of Malaysia was also thePresident of UMNO. It has since returned to power twice as a result of the2020-2022 Malaysian political crisis, firstly as a partner in aPerikatan Nasional-led government and subsequently as the leading party in a BN-led government with UMNO Vice PresidentIsmail Sabri Yaakob serving as Prime Minister.
A race-focused party, UMNO's goals are to uphold the aspirations ofMalay nationalism, the racial concept ofKetuanan Melayu (lit. Malay Supremacy), the dignity of the Malay race, the religion ofIslam, as well as of the country itself.[9] The party also aspires to protect theMalay culture as the national culture and to uphold, defend and expand Islam across Malaysia.[10][11]
In the2018 UMNO leadership election, which was considered by many as crucial to the party's progression, former Deputy Prime MinisterAhmad Zahid Hamidi was elected as UMNO President in a three-way contest, defeating formerUMNO Youth ChiefKhairy Jamaluddin, and UMNO veteranTengku Razaleigh Hamzah.[12]
After the British returned toMalaya in the aftermath ofWorld War II, theMalayan Union was formed. However, the Union was met with much opposition due to its constitutional framework, which allegedly threatened Malay sovereignty over Malaya.
The first phase of the journey of the UMNO party was the result of a combination of 41 Malay associations in the Malay Peninsula at that time led byAhmad Boestamam who presented a memorandum toSultan Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim who became theSultan of Johor at that time to reject the Malayan Union proposal brought by the British.
In the second phase, 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 inJohor Bahru, withOnn 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.[13]
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.[14]
In 1951, Onn Jaafar left UMNO after failing to open its membership to non-Malay Malayans to form theIndependence of Malaya Party.[15]Tunku Abdul Rahman replaced Onn as UMNO President. In the following year, the Kuala Lumpur branch of UMNO formed anad hoc and temporary electoral pact with the Selangor branch ofMalayan Chinese Association to avoid contesting the same seats in theKuala Lumpur municipal council elections.[16] 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.[17]
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 theMalayan Indian Congress, 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.[18][19]
When the results were released, it emerged that the Alliance had won 51 of the 52 seats contested, with the other seat going toPAS (the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party, a group of Islamists that split from UMNO). The Tunku became the first Chief Minister of Malaya.[20]
Throughout this period, theMalayan Emergency had been on-going. TheMalayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the armed wing of theMalayan Communist Party (MCP), committed sabotage campaigns against the British by disrupting transportation and communication networks, attacking police stations, burning down factories, with the goal of gaining independence for Malaya by making British rule in Malaya too expensive to maintain. The colonial government 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.[21]
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 government 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.[22]
TheReid Commission, led byLord Reid, was formed to draft the constitution. Although enshrining concepts such asfederalism and a constitutional monarchy, the proposed constitution also contained provisions protecting special rights for the Malays, such asquotas in admission to higher education and the civil service, and makingIslam the official religion of the federation. It also madeMalay the official language of the nation, although the right to vernacular education in Chinese andTamil 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 ofaffirmative action that would eventually be phased out. These measures were included as Articles 3, 152 and153 of theConstitution.[23][24]
Independence was declared by the Tunku inMerdeka Stadium on 31 August 1957, marking a transition into a new era of Malayan and Malaysian politics.
In Malaya's first general elections in 1959, theAlliance coalition led by UMNO won 51.8% of the votes and captured 74 out of 104 seats, enough for a two-thirds majority inparliament, 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 leaderLim 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.[25]
In 1961, the Tunku mooted the idea of forming a federation named "Malaysia", which would consist of the British colonies ofSingapore,Sabah,Sarawak, and also the BritishProtectorate ofBrunei. 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.[26]
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 Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Brunei ultimately decided to opt out of the federation due in part to anarmed revolt by the People's Party (Parti Rakyat Brunei) which objected to the formation of Malaysia,[27] and the Sultan of BruneiOmar Ali Saifuddien III's demand that he be recognised as the most senior Malay ruler—a demand that was rejected.[28]
ThePhilippines andIndonesia strenuously objected to this development, with Indonesia claiming Malaysia represented a form ofneocolonialism and the Philippinesclaiming 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, sendingcommandos to perform guerilla attacks in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The confrontation was ended whenSuhartoreplaced Sukarno as president. The Philippines, which had withdrawn diplomatic recognition from Malaysia, also recognised Malaysia around the same time.[29]
To reflect the change of name to Malaysia, UMNO's coalition partners promptly altered their names to theMalaysian Chinese Association and theMalaysian Indian Congress. Several political parties in East Malaysia, especially Sarawak, also joined the Alliance to allow it to contest elections there.
In the1963 Singapore state elections, the Alliance decided to challengeLee Kuan Yew's governingPeople's Action Party through theSingapore 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-GeneralSyed 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 strainingPAP-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 the1964 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 the1964 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 MinisterTan 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 theMalaysian 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."[30][31] On that day, Lee Kuan Yew announced that Singapore was a sovereign independent nation and assumed the role of prime minister. After the separation and independence of Singapore in 1965, the Singapore branch of UMNO was renamed theSingapore Malay National Organisation (Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Singapura).
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 becomeDemocratic 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 formedParti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia or Gerakan, led by Lim Chong Eu, also adopted the DAP's stance.[32]
Matters came to a head in the1969 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.[clarification needed] However, the Alliance was dealt an even larger blow on the state level, losing control ofKelantan,Perak, andPenang.[33]
Amajor riot broke out in the aftermath of the election on 13 May 1969. TheYang di-Pertuan Agong (King) declared a national emergency after being advised by the national government to do so. Parliament was suspended, with aNational Operations Council (NOC) led byDeputy Prime MinisterAbdul Razak Hussein of UMNO, taking over the government. Further polling inEast 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 Abdul Razak taking over the role of chief executive.[34]
UMNO backbencherMahathir Mohamad, who had lost his Parliamentary seat in the election, wrote a letter to the Tunku criticising his leadership. Mahathir organised a campaign withUniversity 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 the riot, Home Affairs MinisterIsmail Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak agreed to expel Mahathir and former Executive Secretary of UMNOMusa 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 ofRukun Negara and his planned retirement as Prime Minister in favour of Abdul Razak. He also stated Parliament would be restored the following year.[35]
After Abdul 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 Abdul 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.[36]
In Abdul Razak's cabinet, the two most powerful men other than him were Ismail Abdul Rahman andGhazali Shafie, who had declared theWestminster-style Parliamentary system inappropriate for Malaysia. Abdul 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 authoringThe 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.[37]
The Abdul Razak government announced theNew Economic Policy 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 ininitial public offerings would be disbursed by the government to selectiveBumiputeras. 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.[38]
Abdul 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 asBarisan Nasional. Barisan was formally registered as an organisation in 1974, the same year in which a general election was held.[39]
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.[40]
Discontent among student organisations in Malaysian universities soon posed a new problem for the UMNO-led government. 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, includingAnwar Ibrahim who was detained under theInternal Security Act. In 1975, parliament passed amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act 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.[41] 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.[42]
BN was also challenged in Sarawak after the 1974 election, which saw theSarawak National Party led byJames 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 MinisterAbdul Rahman Ya'kub's pro-Malay policies, charging them with alienating the rural indigenous natives of Sarawak, such as theIbans. 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 Irok, who secured the release of Wong and the entry of SNAP into BN in 1976.[43]
In Sabah, BN controlled the state government through theUnited 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 originallyChristianity, as permitted by the agreement signed before the merger), and usage of indigenous languages such as those of theKadazan people was discontinued in favour of the Malay language. The USNO Chief Minister,Mustapha Harun, was also known for favouringpolitical patronage as a means of allocating valuable timber contracts, and living an extravagant lifestyle, being ferried to his A$1 millionQueensland home by jets provided with Sabahan public funds.[44]
In 1978, UMNO planned for a new headquarters on a site at Jalan Tun Dr Ismail, initially as a twin tower with one of the towers being 40 stories high, costing a total of RM200 million.[45]
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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. In fact, in the early 1950s, Tunku Abdul Rahman's presidency had also been challenged byC. M. Yusof, who later became theSpeaker 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 Musa Hitam, who was also the incumbent Deputy President of UMNO seeking re-election, as well asSuhaimi Kamaruddin, the former head of UMNO Youth and president of the Belia 4B youth organisation.[46]
Team B was critical of Mahathir's policies, arguing that theMalaysian New Economic Policy 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.[47]
Mahathir claimed that the charges against him were groundless, and suggested that his opponents were fracturing Malay unity and were only motivated by greed.[47]
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 byAbdul 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.[48]
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.[49]
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.[50]
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.[49]
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.[51]
"'It is a very hard decision to declare UMNO unlawful,' said Justice 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...."[51]
Then, Razaleigh set up a new party calledSemangat 46, 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.[52]
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 thede facto andde jure successor of original UMNO, dropping the 'Baru' suffix with the old UMNO's assets handed over.[53] Most of its leaders, however, were selected from Team A of the old UMNO, with Team B ignored.[54]
In10th general election in 1999, rocked by the arrest and trial of former UMNO Deputy President Anwar Ibrahim and the subsequent formation of theBarisan Alternatif opposition coalition, UMNO's share dipped to 54% of the vote and 102 out of 144 seats.
After Mahathir stepped down as President of UMNO in 2003, he was replaced by his designated successor,Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who became the 5th Prime Minister of Malaysia.Najib Razak, the son of Abdul Razak Hussein, took over as the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.
In the11th general election in 2004, Barisan Nasional, under Abdullah's leadership, enjoyed a landslide victory. However, in the12th 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 ofSelangor,Perak,Penang andKedah. 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 the13th general election and retook the state ofKedah. Mahathir's sonMukhriz Mahathir becameKedah Menteri Besar. However, in 2015, the1MDB scandal emerged, implicating Najib and leading to widespread controversy. The scandal severely affected UMNO's reputation, causing internal divisions and public backlash.
In 2018, UMNO was required to hold an leadership election 19 April by the requirements of the Registry of Societies (RoS), to hold a leadership election within five years of the last leadership election, as the last leadership election was in 2013.[55] In April, some UMNO members filed a suit to declare UMNO illegal but was dismissed by the High Court.[56] UMNO announced in May that the RoS had in 2017 allowed UMNO to postpone the election until 19 April 2019.[56]
On 9 May 2018, Mahathir and thePakatan Harapan (PH) coalition won the14th General Election ending UMNO's 61 year long rule as part of the Alliance and later Barisan Nasional coalition.[57] UMNO experienced a mass exodus of rank-and-file members, state chiefs, as well as Members of Parliament in favour of Mahathir'sBERSATU and regionalist parties such asParti Warisan Sabah in the months after the election.[58][59][60]
After the general election defeat, UMNO held theUMNO leadership election in June 2018 instead of 2019.[61]Ahmad Zahid Hamidi won the election and became the 8th President of UMNO.[62]
In September 2019, UMNO decided to form a pact with theMalaysian Islamic Party calledMuafakat Nasional. Its main purpose is to unite the Malay Muslim communities for electoral purposes.[63] 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.[64][65] Barisan Nasional continued to function as a coalition of four parties comprising UMNO, MCA, MIC andPBRS, but aligned themselves withPerikatan Nasional (PN) to form a new government in March 2020 after the collapse of thePakatan Harapan government.[66]
In February 2020, in the leadup to the2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis,UMNO leaders Ahmad Zahid Hamidi andIsmail Sabri Yaakob, along with BERSATU PresidentMuhyiddin Yassin,PAS PresidentAbdul Hadi Awang andPKR defector members led byMohamed Azmin Ali, collectively convened at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya hotel to initiate a change in government, thus causing political instability by depriving the elected Pakatan Harapan government of a majority within theMembers of the Dewan Rakyat in the 14th Malaysian Parliament. As a result, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (along with theSeventh Mahathir cabinet) tendered their resignation.[67][68][69] In March 2020, after theYang di-Pertuan AgongAl-Sultan Abdullah consulted all members of the Dewan Rakyat. Muhyiddin Yassin, with the support of UMNO and other non-PH & Warisan parties, was deemed to have the greatest support within Parliament and was selected as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia.[70][71]
InMuhyiddin's cabinet, which formed on 10 March 2020, six UMNO MPs became Ministers & eight UMNO MPs became Deputy Ministers, but excluded UMNO's top 2 positions. President Ahmad Zahid had court cases and Deputy PresidentMohamad Hasan was not a member of Dewan Rakyat (but could have been appointed as a member ofDewan Negara).
In July 2021, further political instability ensued when UMNO, at the direction of its President Ahmad Zahid, withdrew support for the government led by Muhyiddin along with hiscabinet. Zahid claimed that as Muhyiddin failed to spearhead economic recovery and effectively handle the Covid-19 pandemic, therefore Zahid claimed Muhyiddin failed to fulfil the conditions underlined by UMNO when it backed Muhyiddin to become prime minister in March 2020.[72][73][74] In August 2021, after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong required all members of the Dewan Rakyat to submit astatutory declaration (SD) indicating their preference of Prime Minister,. Vice President Ismail Sabri Yaakob possessed the greatest support within Parliament (with 114 affirmative SDs out of a possible 222) and was selected as the 9th Prime Minister of Malaysia, thus created history by the being the only non-coalition party leader to be elected as Prime Minister. Additionally, history was also made as three Prime Ministers took office in a single parliamentary term.[75]
In the2022 election, UMNO, as a part of BN, faced the worst-ever result in Malaysian history, with only winning 26 out of 222 seats.[76] Several key figures includingTengku Razaleigh Hamzah,Mahdzir Khalid,Azeez Rahim,Tengku Zafrul Aziz,Khairy Jamaluddin, lost to either PN or PH candidates.[76][77][78][79] UMNO was also defeated at several state elections held inPahang andPerak, and lost all seats inPerlis.[80] President Ahmad Zahid was re-elected with a slim majority.[81]
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UMNO overtly represents the Malays of Malaysia, although anyBumiputera (indigenous Malaysian, a category which includes people such as the non-Malay and usually non-MuslimKadazan,Iban,Dayak, etc. of East Malaysia) may join the party. The party propagatesKetuanan Melayu, the concept that the Bumiputera, 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 inArticle 153 of the Constitution of Malaysia.[82]
In 2018, Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad announced thecabinet's decision for the government to "ratify all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights", includingInternational Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and other five previously unratified conventions at aUnited Nations General Assembly,UMNO, PAS along with various non-governmental organisations, staged ananti-ICERD rally that was held at theDataran Merdeka,Kuala Lumpur, to protest against the ratifications of the relevant international conventions, due to their perception that these human rights instruments contravene with the special position of theMalays,Bumiputera andIslam within the country; all of which are enshrined within the Malaysian Constitution.[83][84][85]
On 23 November 2018, the Prime Minister's Office announced they would not ratify the convention and would continue defending the Federal Constitution, which they said represents a social contract that was agreed upon by all races during the formation of the country.[86]
In 2021, a new equity policy forBumiputeras in theTwelfth Malaysia Plan (12MP) attracted controversy which were announced byIsmail Sabri Yaakob. It is said to ensure sustainable equity holdings by Bumiputeras, an equity safety net would be launched to guarantee that the sale of shares or Bumiputera-owned firms would only be sold solely to Bumiputera-owned companies, consortium or individuals.[87][88]Syed Saddiq said that the new rulings were unfair as they would be tantamount to taking equity from the non-Bumiputeras and giving them to Bumiputeras. Former Health Minister,Dzulkefly Ahmad had also described the policy as "suicidal" and claimed that the new policy would only kill the Bumiputera companies economically if that is their intention. He also said that based on the feedback from Malay businessmen, most were against the idea of the new Bumiputera-only policy being implemented.[89] Ismail Sabri announced it after revealing that the government’s target to raise Bumiputera equity ownership to 30% had yet to be achieved. He also announced funding to improve Bumiputera businesses’ sustainability to hit 15% contribution ingross domestic product (GDP) by Bumiputera micro, small and medium enterprises by 2025.[90]
| # | Name | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Putih Mariah Ibrahim Rashid | 1947 | 1949 |
| 2 | Zainon Munshi Sulaiman | 1950 | 1953 |
| 3 | Khadijah Sidek | 1954 | 1956 |
| 4 | Fatimah Hashim | 1957 | 1972 |
| 5 | Aishah Ghani | 1972 | 1986 |
| 6 | Rafidah Aziz | 1987 | 1996 |
| 7 | Siti Zaharah Sulaiman | 1996 | 2000 |
| 8 | Rafidah Aziz | 2000 | 2009 |
| 9 | Shahrizat Abdul Jalil | 26 March 2009 | 24 June 2018 |
| 10 | Noraini Ahmad | 24 June 2018 | Incumbent |
| # | Name | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azalina Othman Said | 2001 | 2004 |
| 2 | Noraini Ahmad | 2004 | 2009 |
| 3 | Rosnah Shirlin | 26 March 2009 | 12 October 2013 |
| 4 | Mas Ermieyati Samsudin | 12 October 2013 | 24 June 2018 |
| 5 | Zahida Zarik Khan | 24 June 2018 | 11 March 2023 |
| 6 | Nurul Amal Mohd Fauzi | 12 March 2023 | Incumbent |
UMNO has 26 MPs in theHouse of Representatives.
| State | Leader type | Member | Party | State Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Johor | Menteri Besar | Onn Hafiz Ghazi | UMNO | Machap | |
 Malacca | Chief Minister | Ab Rauf Yusoh | UMNO | Tanjung Bidara | |
 Pahang | Menteri Besar | Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail | UMNO | Jelai | |
 Perak | Menteri Besar | Saarani Mohamad | UMNO | Kota Tampan | |
| Election | Total seats won | Seats contested | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election | Election leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 34 / 52 | 35 | 589,933 | 58.90% |  34 seats;Governing coalition(Alliance Party) | Tunku Abdul Rahman |
| 1959 | 52 / 104 | 70 | 553,160 | 35.75% | 18 seats;Governing coalition (Alliance Party) | Tunku Abdul Rahman |
| 1964 | 59 / 104 | 70 | 458,854 | 38.10% | 7 seats;Governing coalition (Alliance Party) | Tunku Abdul Rahman |
| 1969 | 52 / 144 | 70 |  7 seats;Governing coalition(Alliance Party) | Tunku Abdul Rahman | ||
| 1974 | 62 / 144 | 80 | 10 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Abdul Razak Hussein | ||
| 1978 | 70 / 154 | 80 | 8 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Hussein Onn | ||
| 1982 | 70 / 154 | 100 |  ;Governing coalition(Barisan Nasional) | Mahathir Mohamad | ||
| 1986 | 83 / 177 | 100 | 1,474,063 | 31.06% | 13 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Mahathir Mohamad |
| 1990 | 71 / 180 | 100 | 12 seat;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Mahathir Mohamad | ||
| 1995 | 89 / 192 | 100 | 18 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Mahathir Mohamad | ||
| 1999 | 72 / 193 | 120 | 17 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Mahathir Mohamad | ||
| 2004 | 109 / 219 | 120 | 2,483,249 | 35.9% | 37 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| 2008 | 79 / 222 | 120 | 2,381,725 | 29.33% | 30 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Abdullah Ahmad Badawi |
| 2013 | 88 / 222 | 120 | 3,252,484 | 29.45% | 9 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Najib Razak |
| 2018 | 54 / 222 | 120 | 2,548,251 | 21.10% | 34 seats;Opposition coalition, laterGoverning coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Najib Razak |
| 2022 | 26 / 222 | 119 | 2,549,341 | 16.43% | 28 seats;Governing coalition (Barisan Nasional) | Ahmad Zahid Hamidi |
| State election | State Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perlis | Kedah | Kelantan | Terengganu | Penang | Perak | Pahang | Selangor | Negeri Sembilan | Malacca | Johor | Sabah | 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 | 19 / 31 | ||||||||||||
| 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 | 17 / 60 | 145 / 587 | |
| 2020 | 14 / 73 | 14 / 31 | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | 18 / 28 | 18 / 20 | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | 33 / 56 | 33 / 37 | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | 0 / 15 | 8 / 59 | 17 / 42 | 25 / 85 | ||||||||||
| 2023 | 0 / 36 | 1 / 45 | 0 / 32 | 2 / 40 | 2 / 56 | 14 / 36 | 19 / 108 | |||||||
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 scholarAriffin 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, theAlliance [subsequently expanded to form the Barisan Nasional or literally, the "National Front"], is multiethnic in its composition.
the UMNO can be described as a national conservative Islamic party
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