GEORGE TOWN: A veteran Umno member today urged party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to do “the honourable thing” by calling a vote of confidence among members amid calls for him to resign following the recent exodus of Umno leaders.
Mohd Yussof Latiff, 88, said by doing so, Zahid would prevent further damage to the party instead of insisting on a two-third vote from members before he steps down.
In a press conference here today, he said under the Umno constitution, a special general assembly could be called by the president and used to hold a confidence vote.
“The pressure has been building up,” he said. “Zahid must take into consideration the party’s survival and its three million-odd members.
“Maybe he should consider taking leave or quitting for the sake of clearing his name in court given the many allegations against him.
“But if he feels that he has the support, he should exercise his right as president and call for a special general assembly in a week’s time.”
Yussof, who is president of the Penang Malays’ Association (Pemenang), said Umno was “owned” by its members, not its leaders.
“The leaders are given temporary responsibility (amanah) to lead,” he added.
Under Clause 8.5 of the party constitution, he said, a special general assembly could be called by the president or following a written request by two-thirds of the Supreme Council members or the party’s divisions nationwide.
He said he had nothing against Zahid but advised him to look to the sacrifices of former Umno presidents who had bowed out gracefully “when their time came”.
Citing previous leaders such as Onn Jaafar, Abdul Razak Hussein, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Yussof said Zahid should take a lesson on how they left when political circumstances changed.
“It is an honourable thing (to leave),” he said. “It will be a moment of self-reflection for Zahid.”
If Zahid refused to budge, Yussof said, he might subject the party to further ridicule by the Malays who were upset over the misdeeds of the party leaders.
He acknowledged that the leaders might be at fault but said the party should not be made collateral damage as a result of this.
He also disputed those who said Umno’s fate was sealed, saying such remarks were deeply insulting.
“These remarks are as good as negating all the contributions we have made to Malaysians, Malays and Muslims as a whole, just because of some leaders’ misdoings.
“To say Umno should just be closed is very ungrateful to veterans like us who built the party to what it is today.”
Yussof also said many Umno veterans were afraid the party would be deregistered for the second time, following a similar episode in the 1980s.
He said Zahid should recognise the possibility that the Registrar of Societies might call for a re-election or, worse, declare the party null and void if issues concerning its leaders are not resolved.
However, he advised Umno members not to worry about losing members but to focus on rebuilding the party from the ground.
He recalled how former president Onn Jaafar had left the party in 1951. At the time, he said, Umno was in dire straits and had no funds to run the party.
“When Tunku Abdul Rahman took over, he sold five homes at Argyll Road in George Town to finance the party and ensure its survival.
“Tunku was a believer in Gandhi’s teachings, where the leaders serve the people,” he said.
Adding that Umno was still “structurally strong” with 222 divisions nationwide, he urged its members not to worry.
“Don’t worry about losing members, we will rise again,” he said.
On Umno MPs who had left the party and were seeking to join Pakatan Harapan, Yussof said they should remember that they won on an Umno ticket.
“Although Barisan Nasional largely lost, Umno was the biggest party in the coalition and won the most seats. To leave now, for personal interests – is that what you call the struggle which you have been claiming to fight for all these years?”
Yussof has been an Umno life member since Oct 21, 1947, and held office at the Hutton Lane and Kg Dodol branches. He was the political secretary to Penang’s first chief minister, Wong Pow Nee, as well as the Penang Perikatan secretary. -FMT
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