UMNO won’t go back to Muafakat Nasional as it doesn’t want to be bitten twice, says party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

As for now, he said Umno will remain part of the unity government until the next general election, dismissing renewed calls from within the party for it to withdraw support and shift to the Opposition.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also deputy prime minister, said Umno would not abandon its coalition partners in the unity government and reiterated that the party had never considered engineering a so-called “backdoor” move.

“From the start, we have never considered quitting the current government, and we will remain part of this unity government until the end of its term,” he told a press conference at the Rural and Regional Development Ministry in Putrajaya today.

He acknowledged that proposals had previously been raised — including suggestions from state representatives to revive cooperation with the Opposition, particularly PAS, under the now-defunct Muafakat Nasional framework — but said such ideas had been examined and rejected.

“There were discussions about reviving cooperation between Umno-BN and the Opposition, especially between Umno and PAS, including suggestions that we look for a suitable time to leave the current government,” he was quoted as saying by Buletin TV3.

“However, from the very beginning, both I and the party have maintained the position that we will never engage in a ‘backdoor’ move against the current government, and that we will remain with the unity government until the end of its term.”

His remarks come amid public calls by Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh for the party to withdraw its support for the unity government and join the Opposition bloc, citing what he described as repeated violations of “red lines” involving race, religion and royalty, or the 3R issues.