By Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar

I was born into the Umno family by virtue of my late father who dedicated his life to the struggle to achieve independence through Umno. Naturally, seeing the pains and sacrifices he endured, the love for the party and its ideals was passed down to me and indeed became the core of what I believed in.

Over the past few decades and for most of my life until recently, I served Umno loyally and to the best of my abilities. This was the party that truly cared for the Malays and at the same time very balanced, fair and gracious in its treatment of the other races. This was the party which not only fought for the Malays but genuinely cared for the interests of the rakyat, regardless of race or religion. This was the party that I knew and served loyally and unashamedly, come rain or shine.

Sadly, this is no longer the Umno of today. While Umno was founded upon the ideals of ensuring that the Malay race, the religion of Islam and culture were upheld and protected, this did not in any way mean that other races, beliefs and traditions should be marginalised.

As much as it pains me to admit this, it is clear that the ideology and philosophy that Umno was built on has been twisted to become intolerant, self-centred and even undemocratic. Its leaders have grown elitist, too far removed and detached from the grassroots to listen to or understand the needs of our rakyat.

Worse, these same leaders have practised and condoned a denial syndrome that has gone on for far too long, foregoing transparency and the rule of law in favour of their own excesses. Umno’s leadership in recent years has destroyed the party’s image, reputation and good name, as they allowed abuse of power and corruption to thrive.

Umno is not the party I once knew. It has become a selfish party that strives for its own survival and gain and cares little or not at all for the rakyat’s. The ideals which the party once held sacred were abandoned and at best used as rhetorical speeches for Umno politicians with vested interests.

Be that as it may, the principles that the party once believed in are still very much alive in me, and that ironically made me realise that I can no longer serve the party which abandons its principles or ideals.

Never did I think there would come a day when I would abandon Umno – the party that I was born into, the party that was selfless and instrumental in paving the way for the nation’s independence. But seeing what it is today, the troubles it intentionally courted and the shenanigans its leaders are involved in, I can no longer stay and pretend that all is well and good.

Some may have seen or heard of my open support for Pakatan Harapan in the run-up to the recent GE14. But to those who have not heard or are unaware of my position and support, I would like to state clearly and for the record that I am officially no longer a member of Umno.

Syed Hamid Syed Jaafar Albar is a former Umno Supreme Council member.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.