‘Good to see Umno in moderate mode’

PETALING JAYA: Former Umno MP Tawfik Ismail has commended Umno for showing moderation during the general assembly that ended yesterday, saying the tone was less chauvinistic then in the last few annual assemblies.

Speaking to FMT, Tawfik noted that Umno’s top leadership made it clear that the party was not looking for a general election victory based only on Malay support.

“They said they would like to see a multi-racial victory,” he said. “Hopefully the delegates will go away taking a step back from Malay chauvinism.”

He also noted that there was not much talk from Umno president Najib Razak about cooperation with PAS and he said he welcomed this.

“It was surprising, but maybe it’s because he’s confident that the Malay ground is more geared towards economic achievement than religious dogma.”

However, Tawfik also said he would have been happier if Umno had shown a sign that it would protect Malaysia’s secular foundation. “But I guess that would be expecting too much,” he quipped.

He commended Wanita Umno for showing that it was more ready to face the general election than Pakatan Harapan’s women’s wings.

“Wanita seems to be quite united and quite prepared for the election, and I think the opposition doesn’t have anything like that,” he said.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda said he saw the assembly as one geared towards raising the fighting spirit of party members in preparation for the general election.

“This was a pre-election assembly,” he told FMT. “Obviously the whole party is gearing up. One has to see the assembly in that light.”

He said all political parties across the world would, when heading into national elections, focus on pushing up the fighting spirit. -FMT