KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 – Effort to revive UMNO after going through a slalom in the last general election was never easy, party Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

“To recall, the party was in a state of disarray at that particular time because the enemy attacked us from all angles to bring it down. They created lies and slanders to demonise us. However, UMNO has managed to bounce back,” he said in a FB posting today.

He said they resorted to many tactics that could tarnish UMNO’s reputation, including bad personal disposition on its leaders.

However, said the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman the enemy has never given up and even used other strategies to ensure that UMNO is under their control.

“Because of that, they have been trying hard to destroy UMNO over the past two years. However, they were never successful due to party loyalists,”.

Zahid also said among others they ‘used’ Malays unity or ‘penyatuan ummah’ to gain support. If successful, they can ride on UMNO’s brand can. Millions of UMNO members can be ‘removed’ and kidnapped. Without the challenges of UMNO leaders and members, their position and power are more comfortable and secure.

“Even though that means the welfare of the people is neglected, the economy is collapsing while democracy is being tarnished,” he said.

The Member of Parliament for Bagan Datuk added that as a result of not complying with their request, some UMNO leaders became victims with their selective prosecutions.

“Why? Because the ‘court cluster’ leaders are the ones giving them many problems. If you want save your neck, you can join those who jumped ship seeking comfort and refuge on the other side.”