Mat Hasan: Without Malay and non-Malay votes, Umno is dead

In a speech that seeks to widen Umno's appeal, party deputy president Mohamad Hasan called for a return to centrism in Malaysia to combat extremism and racial intolerance.

He also said that Umno is on a fatal trajectory, having lost non-Malay support entirely, while its anti-DAP stance has failed to win over Malays as well.

Speaking at the opening of the Umno’s Wanita, Youth, and Puteri wings annual meeting today, Mohamad said the politicisation of race had become worrying.

Hence, he said it was part of why Umno and BN joined hands with Pakatan Harapan to form the government.

"We chose to prioritise Malaysia which at the time needed a strong government.

"We need to return Malaysia to the moderate path. Seeing how race and religion were made into campaign material for certain political parties to an extreme level, Malaysia must be returned to centrism," he said.

He added that Malaysia's future must not be shaped by "rightists" or "leftists".

His remarks appear to be aimed at Perikatan Nasional - whom critics have accused of amplifying racial and religious animosity during the election.

‘No DAP’ stance

Meanwhile, BN had also been criticised after the election for joining the Harapan-led government, in contradiction to its "no DAP" stance prior to the polls.

Addressing this, Mohamad said that being at war with DAP had not benefited Umno.

"The results of the past several general elections clearly show, despite our attacks on DAP, Malay support has not increased, it has declined.

"The factor that encourages Malays to support or not support us is clearly not our stance on DAP," he said.

Instead, he said, Malay support hinged on Umno being able to convince them that the party can fight for their interests while being free from corruption and abuse of power.

Meanwhile, he also noted that Umno had also suffered a drastic drop in non-Malay support - saying they were not even able to get five percent of non-Malay votes.

"We have long abandoned the non-Malay votes. So, we must explore a blue ocean strategy.

"The loss of Malay votes, and not having non-Malay votes, is a recipe for Umno's demise," he said.

Earlier, the Umno number two acknowledged that the party and BN had also suffered greatly due to a "cognitive war" launched by PN against them on social media, painting them as corrupt and power-hungry, among others.

Moving forward, he said one of the steps Umno must take to revitalise itself is to stamp out money politics - which he said has weakened the party.

He said Umno must make ideas its political capital, not power or money.

"Umno will be a learning political party, that will absorb intellectual excellence from all that support it, be it party members who are Malays, or non-Malays who are ready to contribute to the country," he said.

At the same time, he said Umno must review its Malay agenda to make Umno the true voice of the Malays and all the peoples of the land - while adding that the usual political disclaimer that fighting for Malay interests does not come at the expense of non-Malays.

Earlier, he had remarked that Umno must aim to become the cleanest, most honourable, and most effective party in representing the interest of Malays, Malaysia, and Islam. - Mkini