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BARISAN Nasional must urgently craft a smarter and more adaptive political strategy, including a decisive shift towards digital engagement and targeted tactical measures, to remain competitive ahead of the 16th General Election, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Tuesday.
The BN chairman and UMNO president said the coalition could no longer rely solely on traditional campaigning approaches and must respond realistically to demographic shifts and the evolving political environment, particularly the sharp increase in new and young voters.
“The strategy must change so that we adopt non-conventional approaches… new methods through digital platforms are compulsory because it is impossible for us to approach all 2.5 million new voters through face-to-face communication; it must be done digitally,” he said.
Zahid was delivering the keynote address at the ninth Better Nation Forum titled New Model of Barisan Nasional: Between Political Tradition and the Demands of Change, held at the Auditorium of Menara Dato Onn at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.
He said BN must also confront the current political reality in which no single party is capable of forming a government on its own, making more inclusive and pragmatic strategies essential. This, he added, must take into account changing voter patterns, especially the growing influence of younger voters.
“We must acknowledge that first-time voters, meaning those aged 18, form a cohort of about half a million every year… under these circumstances, the strategy must change,” he said.
Zahid noted that BN needed to reassess its performance in the 15th General Election, where it secured only 30 parliamentary seats, and to better understand the demographic factors, multi-cornered contests and internal issues that contributed to the outcome.
Drawing on his political experience in Sabah, the deputy prime minister said the state had demonstrated that timely and well-calibrated strategies could yield advantages even when contesting a limited number of seats.
“This experience shows that even though we were small in number, we implemented the correct political strategy, at the right time and in the right place,” he said.
He added that BN must also be bold in reshaping its political communication, avoid being overly defensive and refocus its efforts on regaining dominance in the 16th General Election.
The forum was moderated by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir and featured panellists including Universiti of Nottingham Malaysia academic Dr Bridget Welsh, ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute senior fellow Dr Lee Hwok Aun and Ilham Centre executive director Hisomuddin Bakar.
The Better Nation Forum is a dynamic discourse initiative spearheaded by Ahmad Zahid, bringing together thought leaders, experts from various fields and public voices to debate critical issues shaping Malaysia’s future.
Its first series was launched on 12 February 2025. - January 28, 2026
