The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO; , PEKEMBAR) is a conservative and Malay nationalist 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". 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 ( 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. The party also declares as a goal the defence and expansion of Islam within Malaysia. These aims are rooted in the party's longstanding position as the principal vehicle for Malay political representation at the national level.
History 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.
In 1949, after the Malayan Union had been replaced by the semi-autonomous Federation of Malaya, UMNO shifted its focus to politics and governance. According to at least one official school textbook published during UMNO's time in government, the party fought for other races once they were at the helm of the country.Adam, Ramlah binti, Samuri, Abdul Hakim bin & Fadzil, Muslimin bin (2004). Sejarah Tingkatan 3, pp. 60–65, 75. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. .
In 1951, Onn Jaafar left UMNO after failing to open its membership to non-Malay Malayans to form the Independence of Malaya Party. Tunku Abdul Rahman replaced Onn as UMNO President. In the following year, the Kuala Lumpur branch of UMNO formed an ad hoc and temporary electoral pact with the Selangor branch of Malayan Chinese Association to avoid contesting the same seats in the Kuala Lumpur municipal council elections. UMNO and MCA eventually carried nine out of the twelve seats, dealing a crushing blow to the IMP. After several other successes in local council elections, the coalition was formalised as an "Alliance" in 1954.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 124, 135.
In 1954, state elections were held. In these elections, the Alliance won 226 of the 268 seats nationwide. In the same year, a Federal Legislative Council was formed, comprising 100 seats. 52 would be elected, and the rest would be appointed by the British High Commissioner. The Alliance demanded that 60 of the seats be elected, but despite the Tunku flying out to London to negotiate, the British held firm. Elections for the council were held in 1955, and the Alliance, which had now expanded to include the Malayan Indian Congress, issued a manifesto stating its goals of achieving independence by 1959, requiring a minimum of primary school education for all children, protecting the rights of the Malay rulers as constitutional monarchs, ending the Communist emergency, and reforming the civil service through the hiring of more Malayans as opposed to foreigners.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, pp. 137–140."About MIC: History" . Retrieved 28 January 2006.
When the results were released, it emerged that the Alliance had won 51 of the 52 seats contested, with the other seat going to PAS (the Pan-Malayan Islamic Party, a group of Islamists that split from UMNO). The Tunku became the first Chief Minister of Malaya.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 140.
Throughout this period, the Malayan Emergency had been on-going. The Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), the armed wing of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP), committed sabotage campaigns against the British by disrupting transportation and communication networks, attacking police stations, burning down factories, with the goal of gaining independence for Malaya by making British rule in Malaya too expensive to maintain. The colonial government declared the MCP, along with several left-wing political groups, illegal in 1948. In 1955, the Alliance government together with the British High Commissioner declared an amnesty for the communist insurgents who surrendered. Representatives from the Alliance government also met with leaders of the MCP in an attempt to resolve the conflict peacefully, as their manifesto in the election stated. Chin Peng, the MCP Secretary-General, insisted that the MCP be allowed to contest elections and be declared a legal political party as a pre-condition to laying down arms. However, the Tunku rejected this, leading to an impasse.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 103–107.
In 1956, the Tunku led a group of negotiators, comprising Alliance politicians and representatives of the Malay rulers, to London. There, they brokered a deal with the British government for independence. The date of independence was set as 31 August 1957 on the condition that an independent commission is set up to draft a constitution for the country. The Alliance government was also required to avoid seizing British and other foreign assets in Malaya. A defence treaty would also be signed.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, pp. 148, 151.
The Reid Commission, led by Lord Reid, was formed to draft the constitution. Although enshrining concepts such as federalism and a constitutional monarchy, the proposed constitution also contained provisions protecting special rights for the Malays, such as quotas in admission to higher education and the civil service, and making Islam the official religion of the federation. It also made Malay the official language of the nation, although the right to vernacular education in Chinese and Tamil would be protected. Although the Tunku and the Malay rulers had asked the Reid Commission to ensure that "in an independent Malaya all nationals should be accorded equal rights, privileges and opportunities and there must not be discrimination on grounds of race and creed," the Malay privileges, which many in UMNO backed, were cited as necessary by the Reid Commission as a form of affirmative action that would eventually be phased out. These measures were included as Articles 3, 152 and 153 of the Constitution.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, p. 153–155.Ooi, Jeff (2005). "Social Contract: 'Utusan got the context wrong'" . Retrieved 11 November 2005.
Independence was declared by the Tunku in Merdeka Stadium on 31 August 1957, marking a transition into a new era of Malayan and Malaysian politics.
Independence
In Malaya's first general elections in 1959, the Alliance coalition led by UMNO won 51.8% of the votes and captured 74 out of 104 seats, enough for a two-thirds majority in parliament, which would not only allow them to form the government again but amend the constitution at will. However, for the Alliance, the election was marred by internal strife when MCA leader Lim Chong Eu demanded his party be allowed to contest 40 of the 104 seats available. When the Tunku rejected this, many of Lim's supporters resigned, and ran in the election as independents, which cost the Alliance some seats.Goh, Cheng Teik (1994). Malaysia: Beyond Communal Politics, p. 18. Pelanduk Publications. .
In 1961, the Tunku mooted the idea of forming a federation named "Malaysia", which would consist of the British colonies of Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak, and also the British Protectorate of Brunei. The reasoning behind this was that this would allow the federal government to control and combat communist activities, especially in Singapore. It was also feared that if Singapore achieved independence, it would become a base for Chinese chauvinists to threaten Malayan sovereignty. To balance out the ethnic composition of the new nation, the other states, whose Malay and indigenous populations would balance out the Singaporean Chinese majority, were also included.Shuid, Mahdi & Yunus, Mohd. Fauzi (2001). Malaysian Studies, p. 29. Longman. .
After much negotiation, a constitution was hammered out with some minor changes. For instance, the Malay privileges were now made available to all "Bumiputra", a group comprising the Malays and other indigenous peoples of Malaysia. However, the new states were also granted some autonomy unavailable to the original nine states of Malaya. After negotiations in July 1963, it was agreed that Malaysia would come into being on 31 August 1963, consisting of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. Brunei ultimately decided to opt out of the federation due in part to an armed revolt by the People's Party (Parti Rakyat Brunei) which objected to the formation of Malaysia,Shuid & Yunus, p. 31. and the Sultan of Brunei Omar Ali Saifuddien III's demand that he be recognised as the most senior Malay ruler—a demand that was rejected.
The Philippines and Indonesia strenuously objected to this development, with Indonesia claiming Malaysia represented a form of neocolonialism and the Philippines claiming Sabah as its territory. The United Nations sent a commission to the region which approved the merger after having delayed the date of Malaysia's formation to investigate. Despite further protests from the Indonesian President, Sukarno, the formation of Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963. Indonesia then declared a "confrontation" with Malaysia, sending commandos to perform guerilla attacks in East Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). The confrontation was ended when Suharto replaced Sukarno as president. The Philippines, which had withdrawn diplomatic recognition from Malaysia, also recognised Malaysia around the same time.Adam, Samuri & Fadzil, pp. 214, 217, 220, 222, 223.
To reflect the change of name to Malaysia, UMNO's coalition partners promptly altered their names to the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress. Several political parties in East Malaysia, especially Sarawak, also joined the Alliance to allow it to contest elections there.
Relations with Singapore