Addressing the Umno general assembly, he said that if BN were not strong, other parties would not be wishing to join it.

Turning to MCA president Wee Ka Siong, MIC deputy president M Saravanan and PBRS deputy president Arthur Joseph Kurup – who were guests at the gathering – Zahid said the BN component party leaders should jointly discuss with those who wished to join them.

“We should welcome them and treat them well so that BN can rise again,” he said.

Earlier, Zahid hailed BN’s resounding victory in last Saturday’s Johor elections in which the coalition captured 40 of the 56 state seats at stake.

BN’s 60-year dominance came to an end when Pakatan Harapan won the 14th general election (GE14) in May 2018, with the coalition only capturing 78 seats of the 222 total contested.

The result led to an exodus of parties from BN, including Upko, Parti Liberal Demokratik and Parti Progresif Penduduk.

Meanwhile, Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak and Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party left the coalition in June 2018 to form Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).

Gerakan also left BN after GE14 and is now a component party of Perikatan Nasional (PN).

BN currently has four component parties, Umno, MCA, MIC and Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).