Umno leaders have spoken out against former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin who predicted the party will lose more than 50 percent of its Malay voter base in the upcoming state elections.
Umno supreme council member Mohd Puad Zarkashi said it is baseless for Khairy to assume that Umno will lose those votes due to the extended anti-DAP brainwashing.
“Khairy’s claim that 50 percent of Umno voters will shift to Perikatan Nasional (PN) is just an assumption. His reasoning is that Umno members have been indoctrinated to be anti-DAP for a long time and so they will reject (Umno secretary-general) Ahmad Maslan’s call to vote for DAP.
“Khairy’s assumption is not strong. Political enmities do not last. PAS used to be friendly with DAP. We have not heard that half of PAS voters have left PAS.
“Umno members have become accustomed to the changing political approaches. Not to mention Umno does not practise narrow politics, that is why there were no large-scale protests when the supreme council decided to join the unity government,” Puad (above) told Malaysiakini.
Khairy had previously predicted that Umno would lose half of its Malay voter base in the upcoming state election if it does not get rid of its members’ bad perception of DAP.
The former Rembau MP claimed that Ahmad’s call for Umno members to “vote for DAP” is so sensitive that it has incited anger and rejection among the Malay party members.
“The views and feelings of Umno members are not about a race, whether it's Malay or Chinese, but it is towards DAP itself, which Umno has long indoctrinated within the party as being its enemy for certain reasons,” Khairy said in the latest episode of the “Keluar Sekejap” podcast he hosts with former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan.
Puad said Umno’s inclusion in the federal government means Umno members have accepted DAP as their fellow ruling party, which will naturally include voting for the latter in the state polls.
KJ urged to move on
Umno Veterans Club secretary-general Mustapha Yaakub likened Khairy’s statement to a “weather forecast”.
“Listening to the comments of those who were sacked from Umno is like listening to the weather forecast about thunderstorms and heavy rain which is not certain to happen. Even if it happens, it is just strong winds and scattered rain.
“Everyone knows Khairy is angry at Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. This is not new but has been happening for a long time.
“Because he is angry at Zahid, he issued many statements damaging Umno until he was fired from Umno,” he said.
Mustapha pointed out that Khairy has no reason to make comments about Umno as he is no longer a party member.
“It is better for him to choose another party as the platform for his fight.”
Mustapha added that Khairy and others who are dissatisfied with Zahid after Umno joined the unity government will continue to make statements meant to confuse and intimidate Umno members.
KJ’s concerns
Meanwhile, Alor Star Umno division vice-chief Syed Mohd Johan Rizal Syed Unan Mashri believes Khairy’s statement is merely him voicing his concerns.
“This is a concern from Khairy about the potential of this happening. But for me, Khairy’s concern is not wrong because this is the first time Umno has collaborated in a unity government, namely with Pakatan Harapan which has the three largest component parties.
“So if you want to say that Umno may lose 50 percent of its votes, I think it is too early for us to say his statement is accurate,” he said.
At the same time, Syed Johan said Umno needs to convince its members and other voters about their cooperation with the other parties in the federal government. - Mkini
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