UMNO
United Malays National Organisation Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu | |
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| Abbreviation | UMNO (أمنو) PEKEMBAR (ڤکمبر) |
| President | Ahmad Zahid Hamidi |
| Chairperson | Badruddin Amiruldin |
| Secretary-General | Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki |
| Deputy President | Mohamad Hasan |
| Vice Presidents | Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail Mohamed Khaled Nordin Johari Abdul Ghani |
| Women's Chief | Noraini Ahmad |
| Youth Chief | Muhamad Akmal Saleh (Pemuda) Nurul Amal Mohd Fauzi (Puteri) |
| Treasurer | Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor |
| Founder | Onn Jaafar |
| Founded | 11 May 1946 (as UMNO) 13 February 1988 (as UMNO Baru) |
| Preceded by | United Malays Organisation USNO (in Sabah) BERJAYA (in Sabah) |
| Succeeded by | Singapore Malay National Organisation (Singapore) |
| Headquarters | Tingkat 38, Menara Dato’ Onn, Putra World Trade Centre, Jalan Tun Ismail, 50480 Kuala Lumpur |
| Newspaper | New Straits Times[nb 1] Berita Harian[nb 2] Harian Metro[nb 3] |
| Youth wing | Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO |
| Women's wing | Wanita UMNO |
| Women's youth wing | Pergerakan Puteri UMNO |
| Student wing | Kelab Mahasiswa UMNO |
| Membership (2026) |  3,525,000[3][4] |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| National affiliation | Barisan Nasional (since 1973)[nb 4] National Unity Government (since 2022) |
| Colours | Red White |
| Slogan | Bersatu, Bersetia, Berkhidmat (United, Loyal, In Service) |
| Anthem | Bersatu, Bersetia, Berkhidmat[9] |
| Dewan Negara | 8 / 70 |
| Dewan Rakyat | 26 / 222 |
| Dewan Undangan Negeri | 105 / 611 |
| Chief Minister of states | 5 / 13 |
| Election symbol | |
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| Sang Saka Bangsa | |
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| Website | |
www umno-online | |
1. Red and white have been used since before independence. | |
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The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO; Malay: Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu, PEKEMBAR) is a conservative[10] and Malay nationalist[11] political party in Malaysia. Founded in 1946 by Onn Jaafar, it is the oldest national political party in the country and has been described as Malaysia's "Grand Old Party".[12][13][14] UMNO is a founding and principal member of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which, together with its predecessor the Alliance Party, governed Malaysia from the independence of Malaya in 1957 until its defeat in the 2018 general election. During this period, every Prime Minister of Malaysia also served as the President of UMNO.
Following the 2018 election, UMNO retained considerable influence in Malaysian politics. It returned to power twice during the 2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis, first as part of a Perikatan Nasional (PN)–led government and later as the leading party in a BN–led administration. In the latter, UMNO Vice President Ismail Sabri Yaakob served as Prime Minister from 2021 to 2022. Since 2022, the party's president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia in a Pakatan Harapan (PH)–led government. Despite changes in coalition alignments, UMNO continues to play a significant role in shaping national policy and political discourse.
An ethnically based party advocating for Malay interests, UMNO's constitution states its objectives as the promotion of Malay nationalism, the concept of Ketuanan Melayu (lit. Malay Overlordship or Malay Supremacy), the preservation of the "dignity" of the Malay people, the recognition of Islam as the religion of the federation and the "protection of Malay culture" as the core national culture of the country.[15] The party also declares as a goal the defence and expansion of Islam within Malaysia.[16][17] These aims are rooted in the party's longstanding position as the principal vehicle for Malay political representation at the national level.
History
[edit]After the British returned to Malaya in the aftermath of World War II, the Malayan Union was formed. However, the Union was met with much opposition due to its constitutional framework, which allegedly threatened Malay sovereignty over Malaya.
The first phase of the journey of the UMNO party was the result of a combination of 41 Malay associations in the Malay Peninsula at that time led by Ahmad Boestamam who presented a memorandum to Sultan Ismail ibni Sultan Ibrahim who became the Sultan of Johor at that time to reject the Malayan Union proposal brought by the British.
In the second phase, a series of Malay congresses were held, culminating in the formation of the nationalist party, UMNO on 10 May 1946 at the Third Malay Congress in Johor Bahru, with Onn Jaafar as its leader. UMNO strongly opposed the Malayan Union, but originally did not seek political power. UMNO had no choice but continue playing a supporting role to the British colonial administration. The British cooperated with UMNO leaders and helped to defeat the communist insurgency.