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Saturday, August 24, 2024

Return to middle ground to survive, analysts tell Umno

 

FMT:


Return to middle ground

to survive, analysts tell

Umno

-

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Jeniri Amir says the party will not be able to survive if it becomes too Malay or Islam-centric.

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Political analyst Jeniri Amir said Umno risks alienating non-Malay voters by trying to match the agenda put forward by PAS and Bersatu for the Malay community.

PETALING JAYA
A political analyst says Umno must return to its historically successful middle ground position to regain a firm foothold in Malaysian politics.

Stressing the importance of moderation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak’s Jeniri Amir said the party should avoid becoming too focused on ethnic interests. It must also refrain from playing up elements that contradict the present-day aspirations of the government and the people.

He said Umno will not survive if it moves towards an overly Malay- or Islam-centric agenda, postulating that such a strategy would, at best, only work in the short term.

“A moderate, inclusive approach will take into account the interests of all sectors and the sentiments of all ethnic groups. To be respected and resonate with people on the ground, Umno must not become too extreme.

jeniri
Jeniri Amir.

Instead, Umno leaders need to be more inclusive and sensitive towards the sentiments and feelings of non-Malays, especially on issues such as education, culture, religion and the economy,
 Jeniri told FMT.

He said politicians must consider the needs of all groups in policies they propose and must ensure they are properly implemented, rather than simply making empty political promises.

Jeniri was commenting after Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad said on Thursday that it was not necessary for the party to prove it is more Malay than PAS and Bersatu.

Speaking at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Noraini told the wing’s general assembly that, of the three parties, Umno had served the Malay community the longest.

Umno has nothing to prove because we have embodied the Malay struggle itself,
 she said.

Jeniri said Umno should avoid trying to match the agenda put forward by PAS and Bersatu for the Malay community, saying the party risks alienating non-Malays even further by attempting to do so.

Meanwhile, James Chin from the University of Tasmania questioned the need for the party to appeal to the non-Malay electorate.

James Chin
James Chin.

He said Umno has never tried to canvas for Chinese votes, having always fought in rural areas where the Malays form the majority.

It doesn’t matter what they do. The Chinese voters are not their target,
 he said, adding that Umno had historically relied on MCA and Gerakan to secure Chinese votes.

Chin also said that realistically, Umno is unlikely to succeed in proving itself to be 

more Malay
 than its rivals.

Umno cannot be playing this game simply because the two other major players are PAS and Bersatu,
 he said, adding that recent elections have demonstrated that Perikatan Nasional now has the bulk of the Malay vote.

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