Umno assembly to set direction after partys dismal showing at Malaysia polls

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3 years ago

January 10, 2023

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KUALA LUMPUR – Umnos general assembly this week will be a closely watched affair following its worst-ever general election performance in November, with its leadership seeking to close ranks.

Besides pushing for a constitutional amendment to deter party hopping by elected representatives, Umno president Zahid Hamidi is likely to call for party unity and rally support for his controversial decision to back nemesis Anwar Ibrahim as premier.

But the question for the more than three million members of Malaysias largest and oldest party is not so much whether they should restore unity after more than four years of damaging internal conflict, but under whose leadership and which direction.

The partys annual congress from Wednesday to Saturday, held after a delay since 2022, comes ahead of leadership polls that must be held by May.

In approval surveys during the 2022 election campaign, Zahid who is facing dozens of graft charges was often the least popular of several prime ministerial candidates that included Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was then prime minister.

The initial chorus for Zahid to step down and take the blame for Umno winning just 26 out of Parliaments 222 seats went silent after the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition it leads joined the so-called unity government led by Datuk Seri Anwars Pakatan Harapan (PH).

The move confounded many political observers, as Umno has vilified Mr Anwar and his allies for the past 15 years as being anti-Malay and anti-Islam the majority ethnic group and religion the party claims to represent.

But the move allowed Umno to stay relevant as a governing power and Zahid to become deputy prime minister, despite BNs decimation at the polls. The Umno meeting this week will offer the first glimpse of whether the top 5,000 delegates nationwide believe this comity with PH is able to stem Umnos decline.

We have been thrashed in the last election, Zahid said on Monday in a televised interview. Now we must have self-criticism, not just pointing fingers at one person. Many are responsible. What happened was the heavy cost from the lack of collective unity in spirit and thinking.

Whether the grassroots agree that the party president is not solely to blame will be crucial for the fortunes of Zahids camp which was the key proponent for joining PH and other parties from East Malaysia in government and, by extension, the fate of the Anwar administration. Another faction had preferred the more Malay Muslim-based coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) whose 74 MPs are the only ones now left in the opposition that Umno had worked with in government since 2020.

BowerGroupAsia political analyst Adib Zalkapli told The Straits Times: Umno is at the stage of managing the biggest change in the partys history. It could even be the start of a permanent relationship with PH, which would be credited to Zahid, whether or not it arrests the partys long, slow decline.

Zahid has been party president since taking over in 2018 from Najib Razak after Umno lost power for the first time in Malaysias six-decade history. The party returned to government in 2020 under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after his Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia defected from the PH administration.

At a time of heightened infighting between Zahids camp, which wanted to call early national elections, and those who wanted to remain in power until the end of the five-year parliamentary term, Umno in May 2022 amended its Constitution to allow triennial leadership polls to be postponed by up to six months after a general election.

This ensured that Zahid would not be ousted until after a reconfiguration of Malaysias political landscape, which critics alleged was a cunning move to influence court cases faced by Zahid and others in his faction. Since the election, two former Umno MPs have been acquitted of corruption. More On This Topic Umno will still support Malaysias unity government if Im president: Khairy Umno seeks to curb infighting before party polls Talk of a no-contest motion for the top two party positions appears to have fizzled out, with information chief Isham Jalil pointing out that only an amendment to the party Constitution can prevent a challenge to Zahid and his deputy, Mr Mohamad Hasan. No such resolution is on the agenda for the general assembly.

I feel the power to decide the leadership lies in the hands of our nearly 160,000 representatives nationwide, Zahid said last Thursday, referring to the number of delegates from branches that will be able to vote for both divisional and national leaders.

Some Umno veterans, such as Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed, have warned that all four presidential contests in the partys 70-year history have led to worsening rifts in the party.

Datuk Nur Jazlan said last week: Umno cannot afford to suffer another big split because that would hasten its demise.

But analysts believe the question of unity is only one half of the equation, and if there is no change of guard, then the existing leadership must articulate how the party will reverse its fortunes.

Mr Tan Seng Keat, research manager at opinion pollster Merdeka Center, told ST: Umno is in need of soul-searching and reforms after its worst-ever election result. It also needs a new internal narrative now that it has joined hands with PH.

It needs to showcase its leaderships ability to be nation builders to regain the faith of both the public and its core base, or see the Malay majority continue to slide towards PN. More On This Topic Four years after shock loss, Umno has been battered like never before Interactive: How a divided Malaysia gave rise to Perikatan Nasionals teal tsunami

World

Migrants locked up in notorious El Salvador jail released in Venezuela-US prisoner swap

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1 hour ago

July 20, 2025

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Migrants locked up in notorious El Salvador jail released in Venezuela-US prisoner swap

On Friday, Paola Paiva waited in a hotel near Caracas airport, nervous but giddy with excitement to be reunited with her brother, finally.

For five months, Arturo Suarez has been detained in a notorious prison in El Salvador.

“I am going to wait for my brother to call me,” she told Sky News, “and after giving him a hug, I want to just listen to him, listen to his voice. Let him talk and tell us his story.”

Suarez was one of the more than 250 Venezuelan migrants who had been living in America but were arrested in immigration raids by the Trump administration and sent to El Salvador, a showpiece act in the president’s promise to deport millions of migrants.

Most of the men had never even been to El Salvador before. Their detention has been controversial because the White House claims the men are all part of the dangerous Tren de Aragua gang but has provided little evidence to support this assertion.

The only evidence Paola had that Suarez was still alive was a picture of him published on a news website showing the inside of the maximum security CECOT jail.

He is one of dozens of men with their hands and feet cuffed, heads shaved and bodies shackled together.

Now he is returning to his home country, one of the bargaining chips in a deal that saw the release of ten Americans and US permanent residents who had been seized by the Venezuelan authorities.

Paola had tried to go to the airport to greet her brother as he disembarked a charter plane bringing the men back from El Salvador but authorities told her to wait at a nearby hotel.

“They told us they are taking them all to a hotel to rest,” she said.

“But I managed to get someone to give my phone number on a piece of paper to my brother, so I am expecting his call tomorrow, as soon as he can access a phone.

“We heard they are going to perform some medical exams on them and check their criminal records,” she added. “I’m not afraid; I’m not worried since my brother has a clean record.

“I am so happy. I knew this day would happen, and that it would be unexpected, that no one was going to notify us. I knew it was going to be a total surprise.”

The Trump administration had paid the El Salvador government, led by President Nayib Bukele, millions of dollars to imprison the men.

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem visited CECOT last month, posing in front of prisoners for a photo opportunity.

But Cristosal, an international human rights group based in El Salvador, says it has “documented systematic physical beatings, torture, intentional denial of access to food, water, clothing, health care,” inside the prison.

A video which was seemingly filmed aboard the charter flight bringing the Venezuelan migrants back to Caracas shows Arturo briefly talking about his experience inside.

He looks physically well but speaks into the camera and says: “We were four months with no communication, no phone calls, kidnapped, we didn’t know what (the) day was, not even the time.

“We were beat up at breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he continues.

Sky News interviewed Arturo Suarez‘s brother Nelson near his home in the US in April, weeks after Arturo – an aspiring singer – had been arrested by immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents while filming a music video inside a house.

Nelson said he believed Arturo’s only crime was “being Venezuelan and having tattoos.” He showed me documents that indicate Arturo has no criminal record in Venezuela, Chile, Colombia or the United States, the four countries he has lived in.

Now Nelson is delighted Arturo is being released – but worries for his future.

“The only thing that casts a shadow in such a moment of joy is that bit of anger when I think that all the governments involved are going to use my brother’s story, and the others on that flight, as political gain,” he said.

“Each of them will tell a different story, making themselves the heroes, when the reality is that many innocent people suffered unfairly and unnecessarily, and many families will remain separated after this incident due to politics, immigration and fear.”

World

Ha Long Bay: At least 34 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam

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1 hour ago

July 20, 2025

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Ha Long Bay: At least 34 dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam

At least 34 people have died after a tourist boat capsized in Vietnam, according to state media reports.

The Wonder Sea boat was reportedly carrying 53 people, including five crew members, when it capsized due to strong winds in Ha Long Bay on Saturday.

It happened at roughly 2pm local time (7am GMT). Rescue teams have found 11 survivors and recovered 34 bodies, eight of them children, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said, citing local authorities.

The People’s Army Newspaper, which cited local border guards, said authorities have not yet confirmed details about the tourists, including their nationalities, as the rescue operation continues.

Most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from the country’s capital city, Hanoi, the newspaper said.

The incident comes shortly after the arrival of Storm Wipha in the South China Sea, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and lightning to the area.

The named storm is the third typhoon to hit the South China Sea this year, and is expected to make landfall along the northern coast of Vietnam early next week.

Disruptions linked to the storm have also had an impact on air travel, according to Noi Bai Airport.

The airport reported that nine incoming flights were diverted to other airports, while three outgoing flights were temporarily grounded due to adverse weather conditions.

The winds brought by Storm Wipha reached up to 63mph (101kmph) and gusts of up to 68mph (126kmph) as it passed south of Taiwan on Saturday, according to the island’s Central News Agency.

Ha Long Bay is around 125mi (200km) north east of Hanoi and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Of those who visit Ha Long Bay, many choose to take overnight boat tours to further explore the area.

World

Gaza: More than 30 people killed ‘as Israeli troops open fire towards Palestinians waiting for aid’

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1 hour ago

July 20, 2025

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Gaza: More than 30 people killed 'as Israeli troops open fire towards Palestinians waiting for aid'

More than 30 people have been killed after Israeli troops opened fire towards crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid, according to witnesses and hospital officials.

The deaths occurred near distribution hubs operated by the US-Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, after Israel eased its 11-week blockade of aid into the territory.

At least 32 people were killed on Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, while a further 100 people were injured, according to local reports.

Most of the deaths came as Palestinians massed in the Teina area, around 3km (2 miles) away from a GHF aid distribution centre east of the city of Khan Younis.

Mahmoud Mokeimar said he was walking with crowds of people – mostly young men – towards the food hub when troops fired warning shots as the crowd advanced, before opening fire towards the marching people.

“It was a massacre… the occupation opened fire at us indiscriminately,” he said.

Akram Aker said troops fired machine guns mounted on tanks and drones.

“They encircled us and started firing directly at us,” he said.

The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said it received 25 bodies, along with dozens of wounded.

Seven other people, including one woman, were killed in the Shakoush area, hundreds of yards north of another GHF hub in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, the hospital said.

The army and GHF did not immediately comment on Saturday’s violence.

The GFH, which has four distribution centres, three of which are in the southern Gaza Strip, says it has distributed millions of meals to hungry Palestinians.

But local health officials and witnesses say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli army fire as they try to reach the distribution hubs.

The GHF, which employs private armed guards, says there have been no deadly shootings at its sites, though this week, 20 people were killed at one of its locations, most of them in a stampede.

The group accused Hamas agitators of causing a panic, but gave no evidence to back the claim.

The army, which is not at the sites but secures them from a distance, says it only fires warning shots if crowds get too close to its forces.

The 21-month war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage.

An Israeli military offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, while Gaza’s more than two million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar in recent weeks, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.

US President Donald Trump said another 10 hostages will be released from Gaza shortly, without providing details.