UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has dismissed speculation that the party’s central leadership intends to replace its Sabah state leadership, describing the rumours as baseless and an effort to sow division within a now-unified party.

“I have never had any intention of replacing anyone. Why? Are you suggesting someone should be replaced? You should ask where these rumours are coming from,” Zahid said.

“They want to divide us because we are strong now. We’ve resolved all the minor issues in the party.”

Zahid made the remarks during his speech at the Kinabatangan UMNO Division delegates’ meeting last night, which was also attended by Sabah UMNO chief Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin and leaders from across the UMNO-Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

He also confirmed that Barisan Nasional has concluded seat negotiations and formalised its cooperation framework with Pakatan Harapan (PH) in preparation for the upcoming Sabah state election.

However, he emphasised that any separate discussions conducted by Pakatan Harapan with other parties are outside Barisan Nasional’s responsibility.

The Sabah state election, widely anticipated as a key political battleground, will test the strength of alliances and the cohesion of state and federal party leaderships amid persistent political realignments.