Why Does This Political Analyst Say It’s Better For UMNO To Disown Najib?
"UMNO warlords should ask, how can we live after Najib?"
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 03 Feb 2016, 06:39 PM
Local political analyst, Wong Chin Huat has given UMNO leaders much to consider, by asking them to start preparing for the possibility of the party's survival without its president Datuk Seri Najib Razak
UMNO must think long and hard on whether it wants to continue beating itself up defending its scandal-ridden president Najib Abdul Razak, or look towards a future away from the prime minister's stigma, says a political analyst.
malaysiakini.com
While speaking about the nation's scandal ridden president, Wong opined that it is "naive" to assume that PM Najib Razak will survive after the 14th general elections
"UMNO warlords should ask, how can we live after Najib? It is completely naive to think Najib can survive long after the 14th general election (GE14) even if UMNO manages to scrap through the election," added Wong when speaking to Malaysiakini, stressing that it is time the leaders start focusing on the keeping the party alive.
However, the Penang Institute fellow warned that the task of trying to distance the party from its long standing leader, would a difficult one and might even pose dangers to the member initiating it
"They indeed have a collective action problem: how to overthrow Najib without dismantling the party so tied to Najib?" he asked.
"I think they (UMNO) should really ask this question: which should be UMNO's realistic goal – to never lose? Or to be able to come back after losing?" said Wong.
What do you think? Place your vote at the end of the story.
In order for the party to regain the faith of the people and gain back its support system, Wong thinks that the current UMNO members and leaders should consider the second option, to be able to step into the local political scene even if they lose in the upcoming elections.
According to Wong, the best way to achieve that would be by slowly distancing the party from PM Najib Razak.
Things took an unfortunate turn for the prime minister after he was accused of being a part of many corruption scandals that involved government funds.
Meanwhile, veteran politician, Tan Sri Hussein Ahmad thinks that UMNO is "a gift from God" to unite Malays
“Only one thing I would like to say, UMNO is a gift from God for the Malays to unite. After this, I want to see all the Malays united,” he said.
A former UMNO Information chief, Hussein weighed in on the Kedah Menteri Besar crisis when asked by reporters, saying that what was happening in the northern state right now had been expected and those involved should be held responsible.
“I believe this is the ‘sin’ of former UMNO leaders, causing UMNO to lose power. It is caused by the leaders and this is not only happening in this country, but also around the world,” he said during a visit by new UMNO information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa to his house in Kampung Lemal today.
therakyatpost.com
Wrapping up his analysis, Wong highlighted that UMNO has been steadily losing the people's support following the aftermath of the 2008 tsunami elections.
"Even though it still survives thanks to gerrymandering of constituencies and the whipping up of ethno-religious insecurities, how long can they play that card?”
