‘MAIN FOCUS IS ON PARTY’S WAY FORWARD’
Delegates keen to discuss party’s strategy to face next six state elections
THE four-day 2022 Umno General Assembly, which kicked off yesterday, will focus on the party’s way forward following its crushing defeat in the 15th General Election (GE15).
However, political observers say the party should instead make itself look good by focusing on work in the unity government.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said the party was set to look into the “extraordinary” circumstances it faced during the nationwide polls held on Nov 19 last year.
“We will discuss what we have learnt from GE15, even though we won in seven by-elections and two state elections before that. Why were we not able to repeat this success?
“There must be an extraordinary reason that this happened, which caused Umno to lose... we only won 26 seats, plus the four from other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties,” he told reporters.
He also reiterated that Umno did not invite other political parties to its general assembly, adding that it only sent out invitations to BN component parties MCA, MIC and PBRS, and also Friends of BN.
“Parties involved in the unity government are not invited this time. We (Umno) would like to resolve issues in front of us first.”
Unlike the past general assemblies, the 2022 edition would only see debates on the presidential policy address.
Citing time restrictions, Ahmad had previously said this was also due to the fact that Umno was not fully involved in the unity government.
In the past, when Umno was leading the government, delegates would debate on matters pertaining to economy, education and religion, among others.
The general assembly was originally scheduled for Dec 21 to 24, but was postponed as the dates coincided with the school holidays.
Ahmad said the nearly 3,000 delegates who would be convening in the World Trade Centre this week would also touch on how the party could strategise to face the next six state elections.
Umno’s party polls must be held before May 19 this year. The elections had been due in 2020, but had been deferred due to the movement restrictions during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The party had previously denied reports that there were any discussions for the top two party positions not to be contested in the next party polls.
On Dec 26, Ahmad had said that the decision on the matter would only be made during a special Supreme Council meeting today.
Meanwhile, political observers said it was time for Umno to focus on making the unity government work and perform well.
To do this, an analyst said Umno needs to find capable, clean and strong leaders who would bring the new narratives of Malay-Islam politics without sacrificing the party’s philosophy.
Fellow at the Institution of Malay Rulers Chair, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Mujibu Abdul Muis, said this meant that the “old guards” must be bold enough to pave the way for the young to take over.
“The best option is to let the top two posts be open for contest, considering that it will give better public perception.”
Mujibu said the mood at the assembly would be fiery, with many delegates eager to hear Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s explanation behind the decision to back Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and cooperate with DAP.
“They would also want to know what Zahid’s plan is after failing badly to lead Umno-BN to a win.
“His presidential policy speech will also be vital, to see if he will send the right message to all members that can instil confidence in his stewardship, or otherwise.”
Another analyst Dr Ainul Adzellie Hasnul said electing new people to lead the party would help Umno “rejuvenate” to ensure its relevance, especially to the Malays.
He said Umno, in its meetings, should focus on rebuilding the party’s image post-GE15; how to recruit new members and continue with programmes for the grassroots.
“The party must rebuild its image because of late its leaders are being depicted as corrupt. In order to rebrand Umno, new leaders should lead the party and the top two posts must be contested,” he said.