MN's revival: Nurulhidayah warns Akmal against ultimatums
Published: Dec 29, 2025 10:45 AM
Updated: 1:53 PM
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh's insistence on backing the revival of the Muafakat Nasional (MN) pact amid pushes for the party to reconsider its position in the government has garnered a mixed bag of praise and cautionary warnings.
In particular, Wanita Umno exco member, Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid, penned an advisory note to Akmal after the latter announced a special convention to determine the party's direction.
In his post announcing the Jan 3 convention yesterday, Akmal had issued a rallying call for the party's youth leaders to determine whether the party should remain in the government.
However, invoking the spirit of the Malay warrior Hang Jebat, Nurulhidayah, who is Umno president and BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s daughter, said that while speaking out is a due right for party members, depicting the party as though it stands at a “stay or leave” crossroads is not part of Umno's leadership culture.
She also drew attention to the fact that while Akmal's attempts to spearhead the party's future, specifically its position within the Madani government, are "understandable", any decision on the matter is not up to Umno Youth alone.
Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh
"The narrative of 'stay or leave, we decide' is a very weighty statement. It does not merely raise a policy discussion, but hints that the party’s strategic decisions can be determined through emotional pressure and immediate mobilisation, rather than through legitimate party structures and processes.
"In a large organisation like Umno, the party’s direction is not determined by a single wing, let alone through public pressure that may be interpreted as internal political threats," Nurulhidayah said in a Facebook post yesterday.
While she acknowledged that Akmal's statement "stemming from care and anxiety" cannot be denied, she highlighted that when issues of party direction are taken straight into the public sphere with an ultimatum-like tone, it opens space for the perception that Umno is "fracturing from within".
Besides weakening confidence in the party's president and its top leadership, such potential views also provide free ammunition to opponents and political observers, she warned.
‘Strengthen leadership, not weaken it’
Young leaders, Nurulhidayah added, should understand that the courage to speak out must be accompanied by the wisdom to safeguard the party’s dignity.
As such, she urged the upcoming Umno Youth special convention to feature argument-based debates instead of emotionally driven narratives.
"Umno does not belong to one generation, not to one wing, and not to the loudest individual.
"Young leaders who truly love the party will choose to strengthen the leadership, not weaken it, even if their intentions are good," she added.
Nurulhidayah ended her post by congratulating Akmal for organising the convention, noting that such a platform, rather than street demonstrations, is preferable for debates.
Akmal, who is also the Merlimau assemblyperson, had earlier called for Perikatan Nasional to be dissolved amid fresh signs of infighting within the coalition, particularly in Perlis.
"The narrative of 'stay or leave, we decide' is a very weighty statement. It does not merely raise a policy discussion, but hints that the party’s strategic decisions can be determined through emotional pressure and immediate mobilisation, rather than through legitimate party structures and processes.
"In a large organisation like Umno, the party’s direction is not determined by a single wing, let alone through public pressure that may be interpreted as internal political threats," Nurulhidayah said in a Facebook post yesterday.
While she acknowledged that Akmal's statement "stemming from care and anxiety" cannot be denied, she highlighted that when issues of party direction are taken straight into the public sphere with an ultimatum-like tone, it opens space for the perception that Umno is "fracturing from within".
Besides weakening confidence in the party's president and its top leadership, such potential views also provide free ammunition to opponents and political observers, she warned.
‘Strengthen leadership, not weaken it’
Young leaders, Nurulhidayah added, should understand that the courage to speak out must be accompanied by the wisdom to safeguard the party’s dignity.
As such, she urged the upcoming Umno Youth special convention to feature argument-based debates instead of emotionally driven narratives.
"Umno does not belong to one generation, not to one wing, and not to the loudest individual.
"Young leaders who truly love the party will choose to strengthen the leadership, not weaken it, even if their intentions are good," she added.
Nurulhidayah ended her post by congratulating Akmal for organising the convention, noting that such a platform, rather than street demonstrations, is preferable for debates.
Akmal, who is also the Merlimau assemblyperson, had earlier called for Perikatan Nasional to be dissolved amid fresh signs of infighting within the coalition, particularly in Perlis.
While PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said he fully agreed with Akmal’s call to revive MN, the Pasir Mas MP said the matter would only be possible if Umno and BN were to abandon their government ally Pakatan Harapan.
Umno supreme council member Puad Zarkashi, however, opined that the MN pact might not be in Umno's plans for the foreseeable future as the party has "learnt its lesson".
An apparently undeterred Akmal, however, has doubled down on his stance, backing the resurrection of the MN pact shared between Umno and PAS prior to the 2022 general election.
‘MN still alive’
Commenting on Akmal's statement on the matter, former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan said the proposal has the potential to become a "subtle trap" for the opposition, questioning whether Akmal's intentions are rooted in sincerity or political interests.
Quoting Khairuddin as the Jasin MN chairperson, Sinar Harian on Dec 25 reported that Khairuddin had insisted on MN's current existence, with the platform being led by Annuar Musa alongside Noh Omar.
“MN does not need to be revived because MN is still alive to this day, but the problem is Umno, which left MN at one point in the past,” he was quoted as saying in a statement.
Former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan
MN, formed by the two Malay-Muslim parties in 2019, marked a breakthrough in consolidating Malay political power after decades of rivalry between the two entities.
However, following the collapse of the Harapan government and the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister in 2020, PAS opted to work with Bersatu to form PN - a move Umno viewed as a betrayal.
PAS had also insisted on including Bersatu in MN, which Umno opposed. The pact ended in December 2022, with Umno backing PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.
MN, formed by the two Malay-Muslim parties in 2019, marked a breakthrough in consolidating Malay political power after decades of rivalry between the two entities.
However, following the collapse of the Harapan government and the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister in 2020, PAS opted to work with Bersatu to form PN - a move Umno viewed as a betrayal.
PAS had also insisted on including Bersatu in MN, which Umno opposed. The pact ended in December 2022, with Umno backing PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.
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