VOTERS who chose not to vote for UMNO in the six state polls held last Saturday (Aug12) did so not because they hated the party but rather, it is an indication that the party needs to learn something from this episode before it is completely buried.
Terengganu UMNO Youth chief Tengku Haphiz Tengku Putera said that the fight must continue to ensure that UMNO, particularly in Terengganu, rises again and successfully captures the hearts of voters in the upcoming general elections.
“Together with the top five division youth and the youth assembly members, we share their feelings and listen to their views on the recent Terengganu state elections. Most of the youth agreed that the party members need to be infused with direction.
“It might be bitter and painful but only a bitter medicine can heal this pain. The people did not vote against UMNO out of hate; they want UMNO to learn something before it becomes its own ghost,” Tengku Haphiz posted on his Facebook on Tuesday (Aug 15).
Tengku Haphiz made these remarks after all Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates in the Terengganu state polls were defeated by Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The Terengganu state election witnessed two former Terengganu menteri besar suffering a loss namely Datuk Seri Ahmad Said who lost to Datuk Razali Idris of Bersatu for the Kijal state seat and Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman who lost to Khazan Che Mat of Bersatu for the Seberang Takir state seat.
BN had not even managed to win a single seat in the state with PN making a clean sweep of Terengganu’s 32 state assembly seats.
There were calls for party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamdi to resign following UMNO’s abysmal performance at the six state elections held on Saturday (Aug 12) last week, where the grand old party won a paltry 19 out of 108 seats it had contested in.
Under Zahid’s leadership, UMNO also recorded its worst general election performance, acquiring only 26 parliamentary seats in the 15th general election (GE15) last November, a far cry from UMNO’s golden days in the 11th general election (GE11) in 2004, when it won 109 parliamentary seats. – Aug 17, 2023
Main pic credit: Facebook/Tengku Haphiz
