KUALA LUMPUR – Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi delivered perhaps his sharpest warning yet to the government in his presidential policy speech today, calling for a Malaysia where the rule of law prevails and not the use of law as a tool of power.
Without naming Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Zahid repeatedly invoked the language of institutional independence, political intimidation and abuse of power, making it difficult to miss the political message behind his remarks.
“We want the people to have faith in the courts, and not for the courts to be used as tools. We believe in all enforcement agencies, but not agencies that are also used as tools.
"We do not want anyone to be put in orange (di-orenkan atau dijinggakan), and we also do not want anyone to be put in purple (diunggukan), but we want them to be put in red and green,” he said during his presidential policy speech at the 2026 Umno General Assembly. The crowd cheered in excitement.
The remarks came as Zahid laid out Umno’s seventh “ikhtiar” – to make Malaysia a nation of integrity and trust.
He said wealth could be built and infrastructure could be developed, but once public trust collapsed, everything would become more difficult.
“Investors have faith in the rules. That is our resolve. Civil servants have strong faith in the system, and they must not be haunted by threats.
“Whoever forms the government, national institutions must not be turned into tools for political interests,” he said.
Zahid then sharpened the point.
“This effort targets Malaysia to be among the world’s top 20 countries in terms of integrity, governance and the rule of law.
“We want rule of law, not rule by law. Good governance is not merely something shouted in a manifesto. Instead, it is the belief that power is used as a trust and not as a space for oppression and injustice.”
The choice of words was striking, particularly as Zahid has in recent weeks repeatedly warned against the politicisation of enforcement agencies amid speculation involving senior Umno figures.
He also stressed that good governance must mean more than promises made during an election campaign.
The Umno president also used his speech to position the party as ready to return to federal power, saying its goal was to restore Barisan Nasional to the federal government and implement what he called the “Malaysia Blue Agenda”.
The agenda, he said, would focus on creating wealth, rebuilding human capital, expanding ownership, protecting welfare, preparing the country for crises, caring for the people, rebuilding trust and safeguarding national interests.
Zahid also said Umno was prepared to work with other political parties through what he described as a “grand collaboration”, based on political understanding rather than formal mergers.
Such cooperation, he said, was necessary to prevent electoral clashes that would benefit neither side and would not require Umno or BN to abandon their respective identities.
He also said the "grand collaboration" would be with "new parties".