SINGAPORE: The youth faction of Malaysia’s United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) will propose to the party that it leaves the Anwar Ibrahim unity government and partner with opposition Islamist party Part Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), said UMNO Youth chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh.
This is because UMNO’s current role in the government has forced it to compromise on “red lines” involving race, religion and royalty, he told some 1,500 party members at a special convention in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (Jan 3).
“This proposal will be brought to the supreme council and UMNO general assembly to be passed as a resolution,” he said, as quoted by news outlet The Star.
“This is not the voice of Akmal alone but the voice of the grassroots.”
He added that an UMNO pullout will not topple the Anwar government, as the ruling coalition would still command a parliamentary majority even without UMNO’s 26 seats.
“If UMNO is no longer respected, then let them govern without us. UMNO is not a party that merely makes up the numbers,” the New Straits Times (NST) quoted him as saying.
The UMNO general assembly is scheduled to be held from Jan 14 to Jan 17.
UMNO Youth had organised Saturday’s convention to discuss whether the party should continue cooperating with the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition led by Anwar.
Local media said the meeting was prompted by the refusal of a member of parliament from Democratic Action Party (DAP) – which is part of PH – to apologise for a social media post she had put up.
Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin had drawn the ire of UMNO leaders following her Facebook post seen as celebrating a decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court which rejected former premier Najib Razak’s bid to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest.
Yeo’s remark prompted UMNO secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki to question if the party should review its cooperation with those who did not appreciate the party’s contributions.
Amid the uproar, Anwar had to weigh in to call for calm and for all parties to exercise patience and prudence.
Speaking at Saturday’s convention, Akmal said that Malay unity was now a necessity, as past infighting had weakened the community to the benefit of others.
“The time has come for Malays to unite. I call for this to begin with UMNO and PAS – the two biggest Malay parties – to come together. The benefit is for race and religion, not the parties,” he said, as quoted by The Star.
“Malays are the majority of the country, but the power of the country is fractured. When we are fractured, it is at the grassroots which will lose.”
He added that UMNO Youth intends to become the bridge between UMNO and PAS in a bid to revive Muafakat Nasional (MN), an electoral pact between the two parties in 2019.
MN later fell apart when PAS and Bersatu – a splinter party of UMNO – formed Perikatan Nasional, which is now the federal opposition bloc.
“We have realised the mistake we made in the past. When the alliance between UMNO and PAS fell apart, Malay unity almost did not materialise,” said Akmal, as quoted by news outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
He also claimed that UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had supported the holding of Saturday’s convention.
UMNO vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin had previously said that UMNO Youth had the right to convene the meeting.
“Whatever the outcome, the party will weigh it and give it due consideration,” he was quoted as saying by NST.
Following Saturday’s event, DAP Youth chief Woo Kah Leong said that no DAP leader or member had attacked the UMNO leadership over any issue since the unity government was formed in 2022.
“Instead of blaming DAP (over issues) and inciting the public, it would be better (for UMNO Youth) to take a hard look at itself,” FMT reported him as saying.
The youth chief of Amanah – another PH component party – also labelled Akmal’s call for UMNO to leave the government as odd.
“UMNO benefits the most by remaining with the unity government. Their MPs were given strategic portfolios and roles to empower the Malay-Muslim community,” Amanah Youth chief Hasbie Muda told FMT.
“It would be bizarre to let go of such responsibilities.”
Source: CNA
