He said a lot of people sympathise with Umno as the party’s assets are frozen and are willing to help but are not coming forward yet.

“But if they see that we can win back Putrajaya, Sabah and the country, they will came back to us,” he told an Umno branch in Sabah today.

In March, the Dewan Rakyat was told that Umno’s bank accounts will continue to be frozen as the investigation into the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal is ongoing, and the government will review the decision if these accounts are not related to 1MDB.

Zahid also said that Sabah Umno will soon be given autonomy to choose its own candidates for the next general election.

“This November, during our AGM, we will endorse and formalise the autonomy for Sabah Umno to choose its own candidates,” he said in his address shown live on his Facebook page.

He said that despite Umno’s frozen accounts and assets, the spirit within the party remains strong and its members are still loyal.

Zahid also allayed the concerns of Sabah Umno members who are Christians over the party’s cooperation with PAS.

He said PAS has ruled Kelantan for decades but no churches have been destroyed, adding that the authorities have been fair to all races.

Acknowledging the lack of support for PAS in Sabah, he said the party’s membership in the state is minimal but “it is better to have some than none at all”.

He said PAS has been in the opposition for 50 years and its membership has not decreased.

Zahid also trained his guns on DAP, saying the party had tried to weaken PAS previously, which saw the creation of Amanah.

“They tried the same with Umno, which led to the creation of PKR, but Umno has remained strong,” he said.

Zahid also acknowledged that Umno has made mistakes but said that since its loss in GE14, it has had time to reflect and emerge stronger.