Malays and Muslims will support Umno, says Zahid

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has expressed confidence in the party's chances at the coming state polls, saying it has a strong team to fight off rivals.

Zahid also played down talks that 10 Umno leaders would be joining other parties in the polls, saying it would not weaken the support of voters for the party.

"That situation has happened several times (leaders leaving the party), (but) God willing, Umno will remain Umno. The people, especially Malays and Muslims, will continue to support Umno," he was quoted as saying by Bernama at the World Trade Centre where Umno is holding its general assembly today.

He said Umno and its allies in the government will employ the "retain and regain" strategy in the polls, where they will not only fight to defend their incumbent seats but will also work hard to regain the constituencies lost previously.

"We will carry out the retain and regain plan with our other political partners and when the state legislative assemblies are dissolved by the end of this month, we will intensify our groundworks," he added.