Akmal shares post asserting Umno members aren't 'yes-men'

 

Is a political party’s direction decided solely by its president?

That is the poser raised in a social media post, which was re-shared by Dr Akmal Saleh, after Wanita Umno exco member Nurulhidayah Ahmad Zahid told the Umno Youth chief that the party’s future is not for Umno Youth alone to decide.

In the post, published by an internet user claiming to be an Umno member, the individual asserted that he did not join the party to be a yes-man.

“Do things according to internal structures and processes? Based on what? The capacity of individual interests?

“I, and many others who joined politics and Umno, did not do so merely to follow orders blindly, to be a ‘yes boss’, or for personal gain, but for religion, the rakyat, and the nation,” the post read.

Umno members

It is unclear whether Akmal endorses the views reflected in the post or is merely sharing it.

Nurulhidayah previously told Akmal that while party members have the right to speak out, he and his Youth wing aren’t the only ones with a say on the matter.

The daughter of Umno president and BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said that when issues of party direction are taken straight into the public sphere with an ultimatum-like tone, it opens space for the perception that Umno is “fracturing from within”.

Yesterday, she clarified that she did not intend for her counsel towards Akmal to be interpreted as a personal attack, nor an effort to assign blame.

Instead, she said her cautionary message of care and affection stemmed from a sense of responsibility “as an elder sister to a younger sibling” who does not wish to see the latter “fall further”.

“My concern is not about (Akmal) personally. It is about a political climate that is overly intoxicated by cheers, to the point that we forget to ask: after those cheers, what is the impact on the party, on the country, on the rakyat?

“Differences of opinion within the party are not a sign of division. They are a sign that we are still thinking and alive. What causes division is when outsiders exploit those differences to weaken us from within,” she added.

‘Let’s revive MN’

Akmal, who is also the Merlimau assemblyperson, had earlier called for Perikatan Nasional to be dissolved amid fresh signs of infighting within the coalition, particularly in Perlis.

In making the call, he also proposed the revival of the Muafakat Nasional (MN) pact between PAS and Umno, with Umno Youth to hold a special convention on Jan 3 to discuss issues related to the matter.

PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari had said the MN pact would only be possible if Umno and BN were to abandon their government ally Pakatan Harapan.

The MN pact between Umno and PAS, formed in 2019, marked a breakthrough in consolidating Malay political power after decades of rivalry between the two entities.

Muafakat Nasional pact formed in September 2019

However, following the collapse of the Harapan government and the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister in 2020, PAS opted to work with Bersatu to form PN - a move Umno viewed as a betrayal.

PAS had also insisted on including Bersatu in MN, which Umno opposed. The pact ended in December 2022 following the results of the 15th general election, with Umno backing PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister.

Following Bersatu president Muhyiddin’s decision to resign as the PN chairperson effective tomorrow (Jan 1), however, the road to MN’s resurrection has hit new uncertainties, as PAS will likely not need Umno or the pact if it succeeds in gaining the top PN leadership post. - Mkini