Numbers alone won’t save us from PPBM, says Umno man
Wan Agyl Wan Hassan questions if Umno and BN have changed enough to win back the trust of the people.
PETALING JAYA: The results of last month’s Sabah elections highlights the need for Umno to make internal changes or risk being wiped out by PPBM, according to a youth leader.
Wan Agyl Wan Hassan, the information chief of Federal Territories Umno Youth, said party members were right to feel angry that Umno has gone from being the dominant force in Malaysian politics to a minor player in the Perikatan Nasional-led administration.
“Worse still, the Sabah election has diluted Barisan Nasional’s previous by-election victories and allowed PPBM to ride on our efforts to highlight the failures of Pakatan Harapan after being a part of the PH administration,” he told FMT.
In today’s politics people would not remember past achievements and would focus on the current performance of political parties. This was where Umno and BN were being “forgotten”, he said.
“One reason for this is that the leadership has failed to negotiate a better deal for us in the grand coalition and their failure to listen to what the party’s grassroots and supporters are saying.
“We seem to be satisfied with being the ‘small brother’ despite having the most seats. The lack of foresight and strategic direction from the current leadership brings us to play on PPBM’s playing field.”
Wan Agyl’s remarks come in the wake of a warning by senior Umno member Nazri Aziz for the party to heed grassroot demands for an end to cooperation with PPBM.
Wan Agyl said the importance of the grassroots’ views cannot be understated though Umno must not see grassroots as the sole benchmark of its strength as “politics has changed”.
Citing the example of the DAP, he said, the party had successfully positioned themselves as a multiracial party even though it was a predominantly Chinese party. The party enjoyed public support because it won the perception game, he said.
“Huge membership numbers might have worked decades ago but in today’s Malaysia, political parties are becoming less significant,” he said. People were more inclined to fact-based arguments and the issues which affect their daily lives.
Wan Agyl said while many Umno members want the party to part ways with PPBM, the real question is whether Umno and BN has changed enough to win the trust of the people and stand on its own.
“Umno and BN need structural change, this has been talked about a lot after we lost GE14, but nothing concrete has happened.
“To me, we need a leadership transition, to allow a much-needed generational change in the party. The party needs to evolve into an organisation of ideas, a platform to incubate thinking party members, supporters, and Malaysians.”
Umno should become a party that allows every segment of the membership and the general population to discuss and develop good policies to effectively address issues that are plaguing the country and its people.
Even as part of the government, Umno leaders must speak up on real issues and pressure the government to create and implement better policies based on evidence rather than rhetoric.
“Without the political will to really change from the inside out, the endless discussions and strategies to make Umno better will be futile.”
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He said Umno leaders and members must remember that PPBM was set up to replace it. “If we don’t act now, this objective of wiping out Umno from Malaysian politics might be fulfilled and worse, we are oblivious to it.”