Tajuddin: Umno undeserving of apology, be grateful for lifeline
RK Anand
Published: Oct 1, 2024 9:29 AM
After being booted from power in the 2018 general election, Umno experienced its worst-ever performance in the national polls four years later but still managed to return to the administrative capital after forging an alliance with Pakatan Harapan.
Buoyed by two consecutive by-election victories, Umno supreme council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed is now asking Harapan to apologise for casting his party in a negative light for decades.
Agreeing with him that no single party could claim to be the backbone of the coalition government, academic Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, however, argued that Umno’s long list of misdeeds renders it undeserving of an expression of regret.
“Who almost bankrupted the nation if not Umno? Who sowed the seeds of racial animosity if not Umno?
“Who taught (Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad) Akmal (Saleh) to use insults to win over voters of one particular race at the expense and dignity of others? Who else, if not the Umno veterans, particularly its former longest-serving president Dr Mahathir Mohamad?” he told Malaysiakini.
Contrary to Jazlan’s claim that Harapan “desperately needs” Umno to remain in power, he pointed out that it was the Anwar Ibrahim-led coalition which offered a “desperate” Umno a lifeline after the last general election, failing which, it would have been cast into the political wilderness.
Published: Oct 1, 2024 9:29 AM
After being booted from power in the 2018 general election, Umno experienced its worst-ever performance in the national polls four years later but still managed to return to the administrative capital after forging an alliance with Pakatan Harapan.
Buoyed by two consecutive by-election victories, Umno supreme council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed is now asking Harapan to apologise for casting his party in a negative light for decades.
Agreeing with him that no single party could claim to be the backbone of the coalition government, academic Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, however, argued that Umno’s long list of misdeeds renders it undeserving of an expression of regret.
“Who almost bankrupted the nation if not Umno? Who sowed the seeds of racial animosity if not Umno?
“Who taught (Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad) Akmal (Saleh) to use insults to win over voters of one particular race at the expense and dignity of others? Who else, if not the Umno veterans, particularly its former longest-serving president Dr Mahathir Mohamad?” he told Malaysiakini.
Contrary to Jazlan’s claim that Harapan “desperately needs” Umno to remain in power, he pointed out that it was the Anwar Ibrahim-led coalition which offered a “desperate” Umno a lifeline after the last general election, failing which, it would have been cast into the political wilderness.
Umno supreme council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed
The professor of architecture, who diagnosed Jazlan as suffering from the “Akmal disease of demanding apologies”, chided him for not using this second lease of life to right Umno's past wrongs.
“Instead of using the by-election victory to forge closer ties between former adversaries to open a fresh chapter towards a better Malaysia, Jazlan opted to open old wounds,” he said.
Tajuddin pointed out that if Umno had chosen to remain with Perikatan Nasional, it would have been reduced to a “third fiddle” after PAS and Bersatu in terms of representing the Malays.
“In the current government, I would like to think that although Harapan has the lion’s share of MPs, Umno stands as tall as the others as an equal partner,” he said.
Delusional ‘big brother’
However, Tajuddin said Jazlan’s statement proved that old habits are hard to break and Umno still laboured under the delusion that it is the “big brother” who must be respected.
“This might sound rather cliched, but since Umno leaders are in the dark, it begs repeating - respect is earned, not demanded.
“It is simply childish of Jazlan to ask for an apology,” he surmised, describing it as a case of “kacang lupakan kulit” or being “ungrateful”.
During the Umno general assembly in August, leaders like Akmal made it clear that the party would not be content with being partners in a ruling coalition.
The professor of architecture, who diagnosed Jazlan as suffering from the “Akmal disease of demanding apologies”, chided him for not using this second lease of life to right Umno's past wrongs.
“Instead of using the by-election victory to forge closer ties between former adversaries to open a fresh chapter towards a better Malaysia, Jazlan opted to open old wounds,” he said.
Tajuddin pointed out that if Umno had chosen to remain with Perikatan Nasional, it would have been reduced to a “third fiddle” after PAS and Bersatu in terms of representing the Malays.
“In the current government, I would like to think that although Harapan has the lion’s share of MPs, Umno stands as tall as the others as an equal partner,” he said.
Delusional ‘big brother’
However, Tajuddin said Jazlan’s statement proved that old habits are hard to break and Umno still laboured under the delusion that it is the “big brother” who must be respected.
“This might sound rather cliched, but since Umno leaders are in the dark, it begs repeating - respect is earned, not demanded.
“It is simply childish of Jazlan to ask for an apology,” he surmised, describing it as a case of “kacang lupakan kulit” or being “ungrateful”.
During the Umno general assembly in August, leaders like Akmal made it clear that the party would not be content with being partners in a ruling coalition.
Umno youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh
In his speech, the firebrand politician, who has become a household name with his controversial statements, stressed that Umno must become a dominant force again.
Jazlan, on the other hand, cautioned that “arrogance” could dismantle the cooperation between the parties, which is vital for the coalition government in facing the next general election.
He said that Harapan could no longer cling to the “old sentiment” that Umno is corrupt.
In his speech, the firebrand politician, who has become a household name with his controversial statements, stressed that Umno must become a dominant force again.
Jazlan, on the other hand, cautioned that “arrogance” could dismantle the cooperation between the parties, which is vital for the coalition government in facing the next general election.
He said that Harapan could no longer cling to the “old sentiment” that Umno is corrupt.
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