Umno Youth to conduct study on BN’s poor showing at polls

 

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh says a public opinion survey firm has been appointed to conduct the study.

PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth will conduct a survey to identify the reasons why people did not vote for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the six state elections on Aug 12.

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh said the survey was not aimed at finding fault with any party. He said it was meant to identify causes and provide solutions for the party’s poor showing at the polls.

In a Utusan Malaysia report, he said Umno Youth had appointed a public opinion survey firm to conduct the study. It would also take into account views from media practitioners, he added.

Akmal said the survey would be conducted online and would be open to all voters, with the results to be collected and presented at an Umno political bureau meeting.

“This is important for us as we prepare to face GE16 (the next general election) and ensure Umno’s survival,” he said.

The Aug 12 polls saw Umno only winning 19 of the 108 seats it contested in the six states. Umno’s BN partners, MCA and MIC, did not contest the polls.

Umno suffered its worst defeat in Terengganu, where it was unable to win any of the 32 seats it contested.

The party won 14 seats in Negeri Sembilan, two each in Selangor and Penang, and one in Kelantan. However, Umno failed to secure any seat in Kedah and Terengganu.

At a post-mortem last week, Akmal told party leaders to “make changes” following its disastrous outing in the state elections or risk being wiped out.

“If we remain passive, one day Umno will be buried. We cannot let that happen,” he said. - FMT