00:00Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's declaration that Barisan National is almost certain to go solo at the next general election
00:07was meant to rally UMNO supporters and project UMNO's intention of regaining political dominance, according to political analysts.
00:16Azmi Hassan of Academy Nusantara said Zahid, who is BN Chairman and UMNO President, was not being overly optimistic,
00:23but was highlighting UMNO's intention to be in the driver's seat.
00:26He said Zahid's remarks were also meant to compliment UMNO Vice President Johairi Ghani's statement
00:32that the party was no longer the dominant political force it once was.
00:37Zahid had said BN was almost certain to go solo in GE16, although it would not contest all 222 parliamentary
00:45seats.
00:45He said BN would contest winnable seats and avoid clashes with friendly parties.
00:50Shahza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said Zahid's remarks were meant to boost confidence
00:57among the grassroots by signalling that UMNO could go it alone.
01:01However, she said Zahid also understood the current realities when he said that the party could not dismiss
01:07the need to forge a pact with other coalitions.
01:10James Chin of the University of Tasmania said Zahid's statement was typical pre-election positioning,
01:15adding that UMNO had yet to show why Malay voter support was returning after losses in the past two general
01:21elections.
01:23Natasha Bust, FMT.
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