THE Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) unity coalition’s victory in the recent Selangor state polls cannot conceal the “painful” fact that BN had done dismally in the state, said Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.
The UMNO Supreme Council member said out of the 12 seats contested by BN, it won only two, including one which was originally a DAP seat.
PH won 32 seats in Saturday’s state election, with Perikatan Nasional bagging the remaining 22.
“Apart from the unique case of Sungai Air Tawar that better reflects the candidate’s prowess, the Selangor state election demonstrated that the more Malay voters in an area, the more difficult it is for UMNO to win,” the Selangor BN treasurer wrote in a Facebook post today (Aug 14).
“If this is not the final warning for the question of the party’s survival, I don’t know what other warning needs to be given before we realise that we have been rejected.”
In today’s political scenario, Tengku Zafrul said that a party’s success or failure is determined by its strategy, skills and appeal.
“UMNO does not belong to any faction. It was established to unite the Malays, and this is why UMNO must not become too radical,” he added.
The international trade and investment minister also reminded Umno to not turn radical because it was established to unite the Malays.
Meanwhile, the International Trade and Investment Minister also noted that Selangor UMNO’s direction and ideology must be made clear and accepted by its grassroots.
“On that note, I hope the party’s leadership will step up and fix the situation of the party that does not merely chase power for the short term but work hard to regain the people’s and the party grassroots’ confidence.
“This is important for the future and the survival of the party especially in Selangor.”
Tengku Zafrul further asserted that Selangor UMNO needs to re-identify the segment they want to approach in prioritising its struggle.
“Everyone in UMNO, myself included, must reflect and rebuild the strength of the party so that we can stand strong again without depending on any party,” he added. – Aug 14, 2023
Main pic credit: AFP
