Zahid: Turbulence in Umno a political life cycle

The turbulence in Umno is a political life cycle which takes place at least every five or six years, said party vice-president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

"Umno broke into ‘team A’ and ‘team B’ in 1987, that is an old story. In 1988, Umno was banned.

"Five years after that, there was a problem tied to the chief justice, while there were also incidents in 1998, 2003 and 2008. Now, Najib (Abdul Razak) is being tested after five or six years as Umno president and prime minister," he pointed out.

Zahid - who is also deputy prime minister - said this when simultaneously opening the annual delegates meetings of Perak Umno branches, Wanita, Youth and Puteri, at the Indera Mulia Stadium in Ipoh today.

Earlier, Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir said all Umno members must concede that the party would not be free from facing problems.

"Don't let there be a syndrome of denial of an absence of problems. As a party which is always moving forward, there are always problems and challenges but what is most important is how we face them," he noted.

He said it would be more challenging in that Umno had to not only face enemies from the outside, but also from within the party.

"In a struggle, we must ensure that the Umno ship is not torn asunder. In Perak, thank God, we are always together because unity among members is the most important foundation of our struggle," Zambry added.

- Bernama