Govt performance not up to mark, Umno must re-establish dominance, says Tok Mat

 

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan asked how Umno could represent the people if it wasn’t performing well in government.

PETALING JAYA: Umno must find a way out of the current political situation as the coalition government it leads has not lived up to expectations, party deputy president Mohamad Hasan said tonight.

And in urging Umno to stop giving a lifeline to other political parties, Mohamad called on party leaders to sever their reliance on its political opponents.

“(I’m) sorry to say, our performance in the government is unconvincing. I understand and I acknowledge, there are those who are trying and doing their best. It’s true. But the results are underwhelming,” he said in his speech at the party’s annual general assembly which began today.

Giving an example, he said there had been little progress in economic recovery and the people were still struggling.

Mohamad, commonly known as Tok Mat, asked how Umno could represent the people if it wasn’t performing well in government.

The present administration in Putrajaya is led by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob but his government consists of other parties, including rivals Bersatu and PAS which are part of the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

The bottom line, Mohamad said, was that Umno must regain its position as the political voice of the Malays.

“We must become the strongest political force,” he said. “There is no use in being the largest party with three million members if we can only secure 17% of the seats in Parliament.”

Umno must aim to re-establish itself as the dominant party in Malaysian politics so that it could form the government’s core without being at the mercy of others, he said.

Umno leaders must sever their reliance on its political opponents, especially PAS, Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan, to stay in power, Tok Mat said.

“We must also stop giving them a political lifeline, especially those who, after being given a chance, stab us in the back,” he said.

Mohamad lambasted party leaders who left Umno after Barisan Nasional’s defeat at the last general election.

“When Umno lost, they gave the excuse that they needed a break or jumped ship for the most sickening of reasons,” Mohamad claimed.

“Now that Umno is being increasingly accepted by the Malays once again, they seem to have resurfaced,” he said, describing these politicians as opportunists. - FMT