KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is set to become the opposition leader in the Dewan Rakyat.

This was confirmed by Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa on Monday (July 16).

In the 14th general election, Barisan Nasional won 79 seats while Parti Islam SeMalaysia took 18.

However, several Barisan component parties in Sabah and Sarawak soon left the coalition, leaving the former ruling coalition with 57 MPs - 54 from Umno, two from the Malaysian Indian Congress and one from the Malaysian Chinese Association.

Although Umno suffered further setback when three of its MPs, including former Puteri chief Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, abandoned the party to become independents, it remains the party with the most seats in the opposition bloc.