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KUCHING, Aug 14: United Malays National Organisation (Umno) has emerged as one of the biggest losers in the six-state elections on Aug 12 after winning only 20 out of 108 seats contested and getting completely shut out in Terengganu.
Political pundit Dato Peter Minos said that the general result of 50-50 or 3-3 was expected where Pakatan Harapan (PH) retained Selangor, Penang and Negri Sembilan, while Perikatan Nasional (PN) maintained its influence in Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu.
He said that only about 20 per cent of Peninsular Malays supported Umno in the elections and the reasons were obvious.
“Umno lost because the top leadership no longer has both the respect and confidence of its members and that of the Peninsular Malay voters at large, many of whom voted other parties in the elections.
“Umno top leaders and in particular its president (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) made many mistakes which angered and disappointed party members,” said Minos in a statement.
He opined Ahmad Zahid’s most deadly mistake was the removal of popular Umno leaders like Khairy Jamaluddin, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and Tan Sri Noh Omar on flimsy grounds.
Another reason was that “after years of hitting Democratic Action Party (DAP) and all of a sudden, Umno played buddy with DAP”. This, Minos said, did not sit well with party members and the way how Umno joined PH and formed the federal unity government was “both odd and strange”, and “full of surprises”.
Minos also said Zahid as the leader helming the party but who is facing the courts over criminal charges, was “the worst and most damaging” to both morale and confidence among Umno members.
“It is a great pity that Umno, once the giant and dominant political party in Malaysia, has now fallen very badly,” said Minos.
He said the rot in Umno started with its previous president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is now in jail and the current president not only failed to “make things better” but causing things to take a turn for the worse.
“The moral of the Umno saga and story is clear: a political party’s falling or rising rests very heavily on the top leader,” said Minos. — DayakDaily
