Puad slams think tank’s findings, defends Zahid

 

Puad Zarkashi said Ilham Centre, in stating that Umno needs drastic changes, does not state what these are and whether Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s resignation will rid the party of all problems. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi has doubled down on criticising calls for party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to step down following the party’s poor showing in the Aug 12 polls.

This time, he was responding to think tank Ilham Centre’s findings on the state elections, which it said revealed Umno’s grassroots wanted a change at the top level in order to rejuvenate the party.

In a Facebook post, Puad said Umno acknowledges that it is losing the support of the people, especially the Malays.

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“However, there are some, including Ilham Centre, that only focus on certain reasons in their analysis. They’re only focusing on Zahid to resign and for new leaders to step up.

“But Ilham Centre isn’t daring enough to go to the extent of saying that if Zahid resigns, all problems would be resolved.

“Also, according to the think tank, Umno needs drastic changes but it doesn’t state the changes needed.”

In a forum yesterday, Mujibu Muis from Ilham Centre said a majority of Umno members told him that they were not confident in Zahid leading the charge against their rivals.

Umno only managed to win 19 out of 108 seats it contested in six states in the Aug 12 polls. The party, which contested under the Barisan Nasional banner, won 14 seats in Negeri Sembilan, two each in Selangor and Penang, and one in Kelantan. It failed to win any of the seats it contested in Kedah and Terengganu.

Mujibu also said there was a need to re-introduce ethics and integrity in the party, saying it was pivotal to attract fence-sitters.

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Puad said Malaysia was facing an issue with politics of “extreme fanaticism” and Umno was a victim of this.

“That is why Ilham Centre’s analysis is flawed. This regressive form of politics, where ‘preachers’ (‘pendakwah’) go about passing judgment on others has dominated the Malays’ political mindset. It’s worrisome,” he said.

Last week, Puad defended Zahid against calls for the party president to step down, saying it was “better to identify what is wrong than who to blame”. - FMT