SABOTAGE, DIRTY OR CLEAN – IS IT REALLY UMNO EXODUS TO BERSATU – OR IS IT BERSATU EXODUS TO UMNO? – BERSATU VEEP REJOINS UMNO EVEN AS SON OF ANOTHER BERSATU LEADER ‘HUMBLY’ JOINS CONTEST FOR POST OF UMNO YOUTH VICE CHIEF
Umno risks sabotage if party polls unclean, says analyst
An unfair party election could lead younger members to weaken the party’s leadership.
Umno is holding its elections for the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings on March 11 and for Supreme Council seats on March 18.
PETALING JAYA: A political scientist says younger members in Umno may rebel and sabotage the party if they think that they do not have a fair chance of contesting for positions in the upcoming party polls.
Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said disgruntled members were likely to turn against party leaders, even at the expense of the party’s future. They would rather see Umno destroyed, he said.
Wong said they might join Bersatu or support Perikatan Nasional (PN), and the change of allegiance would signal further erosion of support from Malay voters and could cause Pakatan Harapan (PH) to lose power in one of the three states controlled by the coalition currently.
Defeats in the state elections due to be held within the next six months could subsequently weaken the unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim and may even end it prematurely, Wong said.
On Thursday, an Umno source told FMT that more party members were risking suspension as the battle for the post of Umno Youth chief shapes up ahead of the party election taking place on March 18.
Members in the party’s youth wing aligned to current chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and those who support his former deputy Shahril Hamdan, who was recently suspended for six years, are already said to be waging battle in an attempt to wrest the post.
Another political analyst, Jeniri Amir, a fellow of the Council of Professors, said young voters may perceive Umno as a party not open to reforms if new leaders could be prevented from emerging using unfair and dirty tactics.
“With new leaders, there would have been new inputs and more concrete solutions to move Umno forward,” he said. “In order to produce new leaders, it has to start from the bottom where they can get the necessary training and exposure needed.”
After facing backlash over the no-contest for the Top 2 positions in the party, Jeniri also said it is only right that the contest for other positions in Umno’s lower hierarchy be conducted as cleanly and fairly as possible.
Nominations for the Umno party elections started on Feb 13 and will continue until Feb 26. The election for Wanita Umno, Youth and Puteri will be held on March 11, while division officials and members of the Supreme Council will be elected on March 18. FMT
Bersatu leader’s son to contest Umno Youth vice-chief post
The son of Bersatu leader and Tanah Merah MP Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz has announced that he will be contesting for the Umno Youth vice-chief post in the upcoming party election.
Ikmal Hazlan submitted his nomination form at the headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.
“With the determination and clear vision that I will offer to the Umno Youth movement, I ask to be given the chance to continue serving the Umno Youth wing with a more significant role and greater challenges.
“Therefore, I humbly offer myself as a candidate for the Umno Youth vice-chief for the 2023/2026 Umno election.
“I ask for the support and trust of all representatives of the wing,” he said in a post on his social media today.
For the record, Ikmal Hisham won the Tanah Merah seat in the 14th general election (GE14) on a BN ticket.
However, he left the party and joined Bersatu. During GE15, Ikmal Hisham contested on the Bersatu ticket using the PAS logo.
During the Perikatan Nasional administration, Ikmal Hisham was appointed the deputy defence minister.
Ikmal Hisham was once alleged of giving a letter of support for his son, who is also an Umno Youth exco member, to be offered a position in Pharmaniaga Bhd.
Last month, former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s son Nazifuddin also announced that he would be running for the Umno Youth vice-chief position.
He revealed on a Facebook post that his priority was to bring back youth support for Umno. MKINI
Former Bersatu veep Mohd Rafiq rejoins Umno, after party election
Datuk Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen said he had applied to rejoin Umno a few weeks ago, and the party’s supreme council agreed to accept him back in its meeting last Thursday night.
KUALA LUMPUR— Former Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) vice-president Datuk Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen confirmed he is going back to Umno, but only next month after its March 18 internal election.
The 37-year-old said he had applied to rejoin Umno a few weeks ago, and the party’s supreme council agreed to accept him back in its meeting last Thursday night.
“I realise my decision to join Umno now is not popular and members may not agree with or accept it.
“I would like to stress that my entry to Umno is not because Umno is now in the unity government because my friends and I made the decision not to be with Bersatu and to support Umno prior to the GE15 when it was unknown which party would become the government,” Mohd Rafiq said on Facebook yesterday.
He included a screenshot of a TV news report that Umno had accepted his application to rejoin.
“I am sincere, determined and committed to help and to fight with the Umno leadership, especially the Melaka Umno leadership, as well as the Tangga Batu division, in restoring the support and trust of the people towards Umno,” he added.
Mohd Rafiq left Umno in 2016 after being suspended for six years and dropped as an executive committee member in its Youth wing.
He was known to be a stout supporter of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who was formerly Umno deputy president before the latter co-founded Bersatu and became its president.
Mohd Rafiq resigned as the head of both the Melaka Perikatan Nasional coalition and Bersatu state chapter, following his failure to win the Teluk Mas state seat during the Melaka state election in 2021.
He quit Bersatu altogether after failing to be named as its Tangga Batu parliamentary candidate in the general election last November. MM
