More will leave Umno, analyst predicts following exit of two MPs

Mustapa and Anifah , who were full ministers in the previous Barisan Nasional government have announced their exit from the party.

(FMT) – More Umno elected representatives are expected to leave the party in the wake of the resignations of two MPs, political analyst Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said today.

Azizuddin said the resignations were due to a lack of direction in the Malay nationalist party and possible offers from Pakatan Harapan (PH).

Umno loyalists Mustapa Mohamed and Anifah Aman, who were full ministers in the previous Barisan Nasional government, announced their exit from the party yesterday.

This means that Umno now has 49 MPs. The two, however, did not say if they would join any other party.

Azizuddin said the two MPs might have quit Umno because they had received offers from other parties.

He said Umno might not be able to retain those who wanted to leave as the party appeared to be “without any direction or leadership”.

“Former party leaders do not feel that Umno can recover from the 14th general election. At the same time, they feel tempted to accept offers, perhaps from Pakatan Harapan to join as friends.

“This would allow PH to form a majority of two-thirds in the Parliament. It is clear that there are pull and push factors in play,” Azizuddin told FMT.

Currently, PH has 116 MPs in the lower house, with nine MPs from Sabah parties and three independents supporting it to give it a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat, the lower house.

It needs 148 seats to achieve a two-thirds majority.

Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said the exit of two of Umno’s MPs came as no surprise, as the party was “too toxic” and in urgent need of new blood to keep it alive.

“The party is too toxic as it is still based on yesterday’s leadership. It needs a total blood transfusion. Lest we forget, these leaders were complicit in what happened in the previous government, with some holding key positions in the cabinet,” he told FMT.

Another political analyst, Khoo Kay Peng, said the exit of the two Umno stalwarts meant the party would struggle to stay moderate and that a more hardline political stance might be taken by the party in the future.

He said the exit of Mustapa, more than that of Anifah, would have a damaging effect on Umno, since the former held greater sway among party members nationwide.

“Tok Pa (Mustapa as he is popularly known) is a respected politician and commands hardcore support from party members, while Anifah appears to have some baggage and hence there is limited damage to Umno.

“The one to watch next is Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, what would he do next?” asked Khoo.