KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 — Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today called on politicians to close ranks and move on after the polarising 15th general election to restore Malaysia’s economy and return the nation to moderation.

He said the openness of Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PH) to form coalition governments in Perak and Pahang shows how the federal government can also unite strategically without abandoning their respective party principles, especially Umno’s.

"This strategic co-operation absolutely does not abandon Umno’s principles. This is based on two things.

"Firstly, the rejection of any co-operation with PKR, DAP, and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) was only for the 15th general election and not post-election.

"Secondly, this co-operation is based on the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree for the formation of a unity government,” he said in a Facebook post this morning.

"This openness reflects how BN-PH is pioneering a centrist, moderate and mature politics,” he added.

He stressed on the need to put aside past differences so Umno too can move forward and rid itself of the filth that has been thrown at it.

"We need to close ranks after the election. This is necessary to sweep away all the dirt that has been thrown at Umno and to ensure that it is clean both inside and out,” he said.

The Bagan Datuk MP said that going along with the collaboration will not remove Umno’s core identity.

"The party remains unchanged in its objective to fight for the Malays and Muslims to empower the progress of the nation.

"Umno still defends the party's policy to adopt a moderate, centric and progressive attitude in dealing with change,” he said.

Ahmad Zahid also said that Umno rejects parties that use religion to score political points.

Instead, he said that Umno responsibly uses the politics to preserve matters related to the interests of the Malay-Muslim race as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

PH won the most seats of any coalition in the November 19 general election, but was still short of the 112 needed for a simple majority to form the government on its own.

After several days of negotiation, it finally reached an agreement for a coalition federal government with BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah joining later.

Similarly, in the three states that held concurrent state and national elections, BN and PH reached an agreement to collaborate with each other.

The Perikatan Nasional coalition won sufficient seats to take control of the Perlis government.