Holding Umno polls now won’t derail push for GE15, says analyst

 

In March, the Umno general assembly approved a motion to postpone party elections to six months after the 15th general election. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has dismissed the notion that Umno’s push for an early general election will be derailed if it fails to get the green light to postpone party polls.

Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir said this was because Umno grassroots were supportive of leaders who were pushing for the 15th general election to be held soon. These leaders are not in the Putrajaya administration.

“The sentiments on the ground are clear,” he said. “The grassroots made this known at the Umno annual general assembly. They want an election sooner rather than later.”

Jeniri was commenting on Umno’s application to amend its constitution, which would allow it to defer the party polls.

The Registrar of Societies was supposed to have informed Umno on the status of its application last Saturday, but there has so far been no word on whether the application has been approved.

Jeniri told FMT he did not believe the grassroots would be split as feared by some leaders, more so after former prime minister Najib Razak’s speech at the recent Sabah BN convention.

Naib said there were four types of people in Barisan Nasional – defectors, absentees, those supporting Bersatu and those loyal to the coalition.

“Najib was sending a strong message to the grassroots, emphasising the importance of loyalty to BN,” Jeniri said.

“I think for Umno members, especially, that message hits home when you consider that Bersatu and Pakatan Harapan have tried to destroy Umno.”

Another analyst, Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya, said the main battle in Umno elections would be between those in the government and those outside of it.

He said those in the government would not necessarily have an advantage as Umno elections now involved millions of grassroots members and not just a select group of delegates like in the past.

“Patronage cannot guarantee victory for anyone,” he told FMT. “The grassroots are more inclined towards leaders who abide by the party’s decisions and support its demands.”

Awang Azman also said Najib’s message on the four types of BN leaders would carry weight because of his popularity with the grassroots.

“He’s been consistent with his views. And Umno’s resurgence is tied to his continued presence in the party, alongside Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Mohamad Hasan.

“This is why Najib is seen as a threat and why Rafizi Ramli and Dr Mahathir Mohamad constantly attack him,” he said. - FMT