UMNO and Barisan Nasional must ready to embrace three political scenarios in the country and try to absorb it in run-up to the 16th general elections, says party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

In his policy speech at the opening of Umno General Assembly at the World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur today, the deputy prime minister said for that very reason Umno will propose a comprehensive rebranding of Barisan Nasional (BN) to ensure the coalition remains relevant ahead of the 16th General Election (GE16).

He said the 52-year-old coalition must be given a new lease of life to navigate an increasingly complex political landscape.

“In undertaking rebranding within the framework of political cooperation, we must realise that circumstances have changed and the demands of the younger generation have become increasingly diverse,” he said.

“This requires us to reassess forms of political cooperation appropriate to the current environment, including a review of BN’s structure.

Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said this during his policy speech at the Umno General Assembly.

He said long-standing political allies must continue to be embraced to strengthen unity and support.

Elaborating on the complexities of modern politics, he cited Umno’s experience in Sabah, where the party opposed Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) even as its own partners shared the stage with that coalition.

“In the end, when it came time to form a government, all parties sat at the same table in the name of political stability. Is this not the strangeness of politics today?”

He added it was not inconceivable for political cooperation to differ between the federal and state levels in the future.

“Cooperation at the federal level may not be reflected at the state level, as politics today is full of such peculiarities,” he said.

Zahid said that as parties move towards GE16, they must be prepared for political anomalies that require sacrifice, understanding and unity at all levels.