SEVERAL UMNO leaders have expressed doubt about the party’s capabilities of winning the forthcoming state polls in six states, namely the Pakatan-led states of Selangor, Pulau Pinang and Negri Sembilan as well as the PAS-governed Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
A top party leader, when contacted by Utusan Malaysia, said Malay voters are still leaning towards Perikatan Nasional (PN) and it was tough for UMNO to attract the voters.
He further noted the state polls period being so close to the 15th general election (GE15) also played a role in influencing voters, particularly the Malays.
“To me it will be difficult [for UMNO] to win. This is because the state polls are held very close to GE15, and the outcome of GE15 plays an important role in influencing Malay voters,” he told the Malay daily.
“Up until today I still see the Malay sentiment leaning more to PN and not to us.”
For the record, in what has been called its worst performance to date, UMNO won only 26 seats during GE15.
In the Klang Valley, Selangor and the Federal Territories which have a cumulative 34 parliamentary seats, UMNO only won a single seat in the form of Titiwangsa.
The Malay daily further noted that in constituencies in Peninsular Malaysia where 70% or more of its voters are Malay, UMNO had only managed to win
According to Utusan Malaysia, Peninsular Malaysia where 70% or more of its voters are Malay, UMNO had only managed to win 12 parliamentary seats out of 91 seats.
Last week, UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed has reportedly called DAP a liability that is adversely affecting UMNO’s efforts in winning back Malay support.
He told the Malay daily that it is already challenging for the Malay nationalist party to gain back the confidence of the majority community in time for the six state polls, and DAP is not helping its cause at all.
Nur Jazlan was responding to Perak DAP vice chairman Abdul Aziz Bari’s earlier comment that the Malay support has moved from UMNO to PN.
On Saturday (April 15), Utusan Malaysia reported that Aziz said UMNO’s stature among Malays was now unclear as PN had gathered the community’s support and assumed the position UMNO once held, as evidenced by the results of the last general election which saw PN gain serious ground on the once dominant UMNO.
Aziz also said UMNO was now in survival mode, relying on PH for positions in power. – April 17, 2023
Main pic credit: SCMP
