KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — Umno’s supreme council member Hizatul Isham Abdul Jalil today suggested that Barisan Nasional (BN) stands on its own to become a credible Opposition front and as a ‘check and balance’ for the newly formed government.

He said the people have chosen BN as the Opposition in the 15th general election (GE15) and the mandate has to be respected.

Hizatul Isham explained that the people’a support for BN had returned during the coalition’s 22 months in the Opposition after the 14th general election (GE14) back in 2018.

"However, that support and trust was eroded when we formed a coalition government after the Sheraton Move during the political crisis in 2020,” he said on his latest entry on his official Facebook page.

The 47-year-old party political strategist, who is popularly known as Isham Jalil, was commenting on the possibility that BN transforms itself into a strong political Opposition by avoiding being a part of any ruling coalition.

Isham had earlier lost in his bid for the Shah Alam parliamentary constituency to Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Azli Yusof, who managed a majority of 18,095 votes in yesterday’s national polls.

When contacted by Malay Mail, Isham said the suggestion was based on BN’s time in the Opposition, that was initially political wilderness for the once ruling coalition.

"Despite having limited funds, we managed to bring up many issues and were very active.

"There was also good unity among our members when we were part of the Opposition bloc at that time,” he said.

Isham noted that if BN becomes the Opposition, the coalition and Umno can rebuild the credibility and trust of the people compared to being in the government at this time.

"We have to dare to be a strong opposition,” he said.