TERENGGANU UMNO needs to go “mandi bunga” (go for a floral bath). Such are the words of disappointed party members in the state after all 32 Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates lost in the recent state election.
The loss had come on the heels of BN’s devastating defeat during the 15th general election (GE15) in November last year, which had been described by an UMNO leader as “the worst in UMNO and BN history”.
Recall that on both occasions, Perikatan Nasional (PN) had made a clean sweep of all state and parliamentary seats, with the majority obtained by PN candidates in most of the seats increasing more than one-fold.
Following its defeat, many UMNO Terengganu leaders have chosen to remain “reclusive”, making it as if they did not want to take responsibility for BN’s defeat, according to an Utusan Malaysia report.
To make things worse, certain UMNO leaders had further resorted to pointing fingers and claiming that BN’s defeat was the result of UMNO members throwing their support behind opposition parties.
To remedy the situation where UMNO is increasingly being rejected by the people in Terengganu, drastic action must immediately be taken to restore the party’s strength to alleviate fears that the grand old party will eventually be “buried” for good.
On Aug 15, Terengganu UMNO chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said was reportedly urged to step down following the party’s defeat in the state.
Utusan Malaysia quoted Kemaman UMNO deputy chief Datuk Wan Ahmad Nizam Wan Abdul Hamid as saying that Ahmad, who is also a former Terengganu menteri besar, must take responsibility for the defeat.
According to Wan Ahmad Nizam, it was time for Ahmad to step down and give a chance to a new face to lead the party so that there are “new ideas” that can strengthen the party.
He further claimed that Ahmad, who has been head of the Kemaman division for 23 years, had overstayed his welcome.
“Ahmad has been the Umno divisional leader in Kemaman since 2000. We have changed the youth division leader five times but he is still there,” Wan Ahmad Nizam reportedly said.
During the recent state polls, Ahmad had also failed to defend the Kijal state seat which he has held for nine terms. – Sept 5, 2023
Main pic credit: Agenda Daily
