Culture of no-contest for top Umno posts must stop, leaders say


(MMO) – A couple of senior Umno members have said the organisation’s old mindset where certain leadership positions should not be contested or challenged during the party’s election must go.

Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said that no seat, including the party’s top post currently held by acting president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi should be considered sacred, as it was this practice that was one of the reasons behind Umno’s devastating defeat in GE14.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, we cannot have this no contest rule anymore in Umno. I mean, you know… you are sending a bad message to the public. I disagree if there are any posts not being contested. I’m happy that people support me but any positions for myself or anyone else must be contested.

“I think this no-contest business is one of the reasons why people lost faith in us in the first place. It looked like we don’t provide the democratic space for our members. We better stop this nonsense of no-contest business,” said Khairy.

The 14th General Election saw a change in Malaysian history with the humiliating fall of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition which had governed the country since Merdeka. In its worst performance, BN only managed to obtain 79 out of the 222 federal seats.

Earlier, former Melaka chief minister Tan Sri Mohd Ali Rustam told reporters that Melaka Umno has unanimously decided to endorse Zahid as party president, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as deputy president and Khairy Jamaluddin as vice-president.

Mohd Ali, who is also Bukit Katil division chief said that the party needs “good captains” to provide stability seeing that they are now on the other side of the fence. He believed that during the upcoming party elections, the three seats above must not be contested by party members.

Later, Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Bung Mokhtar Radin echoed Khairy’s sentiments and voiced his disagreement to the endorsements proposed by Mohd Ali.

“I think Umno should change because everyone on the ground have changed so why should we stop anyone from contesting any posts? I think it’s high time for Umno to change and give way to everyone who wants to offer themselves as a leader.

“I don’t agree with Tan Sri Ali Rustam,” said Bung Mokhtar.

 



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