Division chief Sheikh Weshal Sheikh Ahmad said the coalition’s loss was largely Zahid’s fault for not prioritising the party’s needs when he chose candidates for the polls.

Several big names were axed from the list of BN candidates list GE15, including Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Annuar Musa (Ketereh), Halimah Sadique (Kota Tinggi), Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara) and Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar).

Sheikh Weshal also said Zahid failed to comprehend voters’ demands and misled members into believing that the party could win big if GE15 was held this year.

“We, therefore, demand Zahid take responsibility over the loss and resign just as how former Umno president Najib Razak did after the last general election in 2018 (GE14).

“We also call upon Mohamad (Tok Mat) to fulfill his promise to resign if BN fails to win GE15,” he said in a statement.

He added that the time is right to let party vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob lead negotiations with other parties in the formation of the next government.

The statement by Kota Raja Umno Youth comes after Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi had also called for Zahid to resign due to BN’s poor showing in GE15.

Onn Hafiz said it was clear that the Malays have rejected the party, adding that Umno and BN only won nine parliamentary seats in Johor and none in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Melaka, Kelantan and Terengganu.

Onn Hafiz said many good Umno, MCA and MIC leaders were sacrificed because the party refused to listen to its grassroots. He warned that the coalition will not win a single seat in the future if it doesn’t start making changes.

In yesterday’s polls, BN only managed to win 30 seats. Its rivals Pakatan Harapan (with Muda) won 82, while Perikatan Nasional won 73.