Umno’s future hangs on ‘kingmaker’ Muhyiddin, says ex-NST chief
“Has Muhyiddin, who showed the door out to Abdullah who won 140 parliamentary seats, missed the fact that Najib’s performance was worse that that?”
Zurairi AR, The Malay Mail
Umno’s number two Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin must make the hard decision to challenge the top spot for the sake of the party’s future, former New Straits Times (NST) group editor-in-chief Datuk A. Kadir Jasin appeared to suggest in his blog post.
In an apparent endorsement for the deputy prime minister, Kadir compared the performance of Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the May polls with former president Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whom Muhyiddin (picture) allegedly helped oust from the party.
“The public must still remember Muhyiddin’s role in the movement to hasten Abdullah’s resignation and at once the rise of Najib, after Abdullah’s bad performance in the 2008 general elections,” said Kadir in his latest posting yesterday.
“Has Muhyiddin, who showed the door out to Abdullah who won 140 parliamentary seats, missed the fact that Najib’s performance was worse that that?”
In the May polls, Najib-led Barisan Nasional (BN) not only failed to recapture its coveted parliamentary supermajority but also lost further ground to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), when it took 133 seats to the opposition pact’s 89.
Despite the dismal performance, Najib’s contemporaries have agreed to leave the party’s top two positions uncontested in an election this year, in order to preserve stability in Umno.
Kadir noted Muhyiddin’s dilemma in challenging Najib after such decision was announced, and also whether the top leaders will support his challenge.
Kadir also defended Muhyiddin’s label of being “a Malay first” despite claims that he is being seen as racist, anti-1Malaysia and a sabotage against the concept’s founder Najib.
He compared the hostility from non-Malays towards Muhyiddin with another former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was labelled an “ultra Malay” before he replaced his predecessor Tun Hussein Onn.
According to Kadir, non-Malays especially Chinese did so because they wish to keep Umno and the government’s leadership weakened, so that they can have the political leverage to make demands.
This was proven, he said, in the recent proposal to amend the Administration of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013, which was ironically announced to be scrapped by Muhyiddin himself.
The party’s fight for Malays, Islam and the nation must be at the top of the priority as Umno members choose a leader that will carve the party’s future, reminded Kadir.
“If they are sincere towards that statement and are not only thinking about their own interests, they surely know and should bravely say in public, who is worthy and can be counted on to carry a heavy task for the sake of Malays, Islam, and country,” he said.
“In conclusion, it is up to Umno leaders to choose which is more important – their dilemma to keep their manners or the future of the party.”
A total of 146,000 Umno members will cast their votes for the top leadership of the party, adopting the ‘electoral college’ system which merges the election systems from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The date for election at the branch level had been decided from July 15 till August 31 while the date for election at the divisional and top party leadership levels had yet to be decided.
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Umno’s number two Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin must make the hard decision to challenge the top spot for the sake of the party’s future, former New Straits Times (NST) group editor-in-chief Datuk A. Kadir Jasin appeared to suggest in his blog post.
In an apparent endorsement for the deputy prime minister, Kadir compared the performance of Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the May polls with former president Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whom Muhyiddin (picture) allegedly helped oust from the party.
“The public must still remember Muhyiddin’s role in the movement to hasten Abdullah’s resignation and at once the rise of Najib, after Abdullah’s bad performance in the 2008 general elections,” said Kadir in his latest posting yesterday.
“Has Muhyiddin, who showed the door out to Abdullah who won 140 parliamentary seats, missed the fact that Najib’s performance was worse that that?”
In the May polls, Najib-led Barisan Nasional (BN) not only failed to recapture its coveted parliamentary supermajority but also lost further ground to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), when it took 133 seats to the opposition pact’s 89.
Despite the dismal performance, Najib’s contemporaries have agreed to leave the party’s top two positions uncontested in an election this year, in order to preserve stability in Umno.
Kadir noted Muhyiddin’s dilemma in challenging Najib after such decision was announced, and also whether the top leaders will support his challenge.
Kadir also defended Muhyiddin’s label of being “a Malay first” despite claims that he is being seen as racist, anti-1Malaysia and a sabotage against the concept’s founder Najib.
He compared the hostility from non-Malays towards Muhyiddin with another former Umno president Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was labelled an “ultra Malay” before he replaced his predecessor Tun Hussein Onn.
According to Kadir, non-Malays especially Chinese did so because they wish to keep Umno and the government’s leadership weakened, so that they can have the political leverage to make demands.
This was proven, he said, in the recent proposal to amend the Administration of Islam (Federal Territories) Bill 2013, which was ironically announced to be scrapped by Muhyiddin himself.
The party’s fight for Malays, Islam and the nation must be at the top of the priority as Umno members choose a leader that will carve the party’s future, reminded Kadir.
“If they are sincere towards that statement and are not only thinking about their own interests, they surely know and should bravely say in public, who is worthy and can be counted on to carry a heavy task for the sake of Malays, Islam, and country,” he said.
“In conclusion, it is up to Umno leaders to choose which is more important – their dilemma to keep their manners or the future of the party.”
A total of 146,000 Umno members will cast their votes for the top leadership of the party, adopting the ‘electoral college’ system which merges the election systems from the United States and the United Kingdom.
The date for election at the branch level had been decided from July 15 till August 31 while the date for election at the divisional and top party leadership levels had yet to be decided.