Rift in Umno behind collapse of Melaka government, says insider
A rift in Melaka Umno has been brewing since the Sheraton Move between the supporters of chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali (left) and those supporting Idris Haron.
PETALING JAYA: An internal rift among Umno members in Melaka, which had been brewing since the Sheraton Move last year, is the cause of the collapse of the state government, said a party insider.
PETALING JAYA: An internal rift among Umno members in Melaka, which had been brewing since the Sheraton Move last year, is the cause of the collapse of the state government, said a party insider.
He told FMT that some state party leaders were behind Umno’s Sulaiman Md Ali as chief minister while others wanted Idris Haron, who was the state chief minister before GE14, to be reinstated.
“The rift just got worse over time.
“Pakatan Harapan (PH) members in the state took the opportunity to lure those in support of Idris to break away and form a new state government.
“This is not something that happened last month or the beginning of this year. It can be traced back to the Sheraton Move,” he told FMT.
He said those who wanted to overthrow Sulaiman finally decided to make their move during the 12th Malaysia Plan debates in the Dewan Rakyat as a means to attract attention. “They felt this was the right time,” he said.
Earlier today, Melaka Governor Mohd Ali Rustam dissolved the state assembly after the announcement that four state assemblymen had retracted support for Sulaiman, leaving his government with only 13 seats in the 28-seat assembly.
Three of the four were executive councillors.
Along with Idris, former DAP man Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu), Bersatu’s Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) and Umno’s Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor) also retracted their support for the state government.
The dissolution of the assembly leaves Umno in a strange position, where its members will likely be going up against each other with some teaming up with the Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) and others with PH.
At the national level, Umno is against both Bersatu and PH.
According to Bernama, Melaka PN has already announced that it is open to discussions with Umno to avoid three-cornered fights if a state election is called.
It was not what the rebel assemblyman had planned for.
Instead, they had been looking at the same formula as the federal government with a new chief minister from Umno, but who would be PH friendly.
“PH and those supporting Idris wanted Umno to govern the state with the same assemblymen but with a different chief minister,” he said.
However, the insider said the plans may have backfired with the dissolution of the assembly.
Another Umno insider told FMT that party members were keen on quick state elections, the first such election in the peninsular.
“We do not want the Election Commission (EC) to keep delaying elections because of Covid-19. We cannot use what happened with the Sabah state elections as the reason to delay polls,” he said.
“If the SOPs were followed (then), the cases would have been minimal,” he told FMT, adding that Singapore, Taiwan and other countries had held elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, however, hinted that Melaka may declare an emergency to delay the elections as a way to settle the rift within Umno members first.
“Umno surely does not want to take the blame if the cases go up again. But if the EC is prepared, then elections can be held in Melaka,” the insider said.
Earlier today, Zahid had said it may be too dangerous to hold elections, especially in the next 60 days. He hinted that Melaka may follow the Sarawak model where emergency was declared to prevent a state election.
The source said most Umno members want general elections to be held by July next year.
Melaka an acid test for EC to strengthen election SOPs
Social-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya, meanwhile, said a Melaka state election may be the acid test for Umno as the small state with almost one million people may be the best place to test its popularity before the general election.
“Melaka may also be seen as the acid test for EC to correct any weaknesses,” he added.
By July, he said Umno will have formed the right narrative to win the hearts of the rakyat and in ensuring Budget 2022 has made an impact on the poor and middle income.
“Umno may see July as the most suitable time as the budget and their initiatives would have started showing some impact,” said Awang Azman.
However, former deputy health minister Lee Boon Chye said it was not a good time for Melaka to have an election.
“There may be a spike in cases again,” Lee told FMT.
“The rift just got worse over time.
“Pakatan Harapan (PH) members in the state took the opportunity to lure those in support of Idris to break away and form a new state government.
“This is not something that happened last month or the beginning of this year. It can be traced back to the Sheraton Move,” he told FMT.
He said those who wanted to overthrow Sulaiman finally decided to make their move during the 12th Malaysia Plan debates in the Dewan Rakyat as a means to attract attention. “They felt this was the right time,” he said.
Earlier today, Melaka Governor Mohd Ali Rustam dissolved the state assembly after the announcement that four state assemblymen had retracted support for Sulaiman, leaving his government with only 13 seats in the 28-seat assembly.
Three of the four were executive councillors.
Along with Idris, former DAP man Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu), Bersatu’s Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas) and Umno’s Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor) also retracted their support for the state government.
The dissolution of the assembly leaves Umno in a strange position, where its members will likely be going up against each other with some teaming up with the Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) and others with PH.
At the national level, Umno is against both Bersatu and PH.
According to Bernama, Melaka PN has already announced that it is open to discussions with Umno to avoid three-cornered fights if a state election is called.
It was not what the rebel assemblyman had planned for.
Instead, they had been looking at the same formula as the federal government with a new chief minister from Umno, but who would be PH friendly.
“PH and those supporting Idris wanted Umno to govern the state with the same assemblymen but with a different chief minister,” he said.
However, the insider said the plans may have backfired with the dissolution of the assembly.
Another Umno insider told FMT that party members were keen on quick state elections, the first such election in the peninsular.
“We do not want the Election Commission (EC) to keep delaying elections because of Covid-19. We cannot use what happened with the Sabah state elections as the reason to delay polls,” he said.
“If the SOPs were followed (then), the cases would have been minimal,” he told FMT, adding that Singapore, Taiwan and other countries had held elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, however, hinted that Melaka may declare an emergency to delay the elections as a way to settle the rift within Umno members first.
“Umno surely does not want to take the blame if the cases go up again. But if the EC is prepared, then elections can be held in Melaka,” the insider said.
Earlier today, Zahid had said it may be too dangerous to hold elections, especially in the next 60 days. He hinted that Melaka may follow the Sarawak model where emergency was declared to prevent a state election.
The source said most Umno members want general elections to be held by July next year.
Melaka an acid test for EC to strengthen election SOPs
Social-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya, meanwhile, said a Melaka state election may be the acid test for Umno as the small state with almost one million people may be the best place to test its popularity before the general election.
“Melaka may also be seen as the acid test for EC to correct any weaknesses,” he added.
By July, he said Umno will have formed the right narrative to win the hearts of the rakyat and in ensuring Budget 2022 has made an impact on the poor and middle income.
“Umno may see July as the most suitable time as the budget and their initiatives would have started showing some impact,” said Awang Azman.
However, former deputy health minister Lee Boon Chye said it was not a good time for Melaka to have an election.
“There may be a spike in cases again,” Lee told FMT.
No comments:
Post a Comment