No contest decision might cause loss of faith in Umno - Party veteran
Yussof.
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Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said the consequences of such decisions could diminish the party's relevance as it could be viewed as devoid of a democratic process which has been Umno's principle all this while.
He added that this could subsequently cause Umno to transgress from one of the strongest parties to one that needs to ride on other parties for power.
“The action not to contest the president and deputy president position in the party elections is a loss for Umno because the people will start to lose faith towards the party. The actions could see Umno perceived as no longer democratic," said Mohd Yussof.
“I am worried Umno will become a party that merely rides on the strength of other parties like Pakatan Harapan (PH) to win. Currently Umno is not standing on its own strength,” he said when contacted on Sunday.
Rembau Umno Division representative Mohd Shukri Shamsudin in his speech suggested the additional motion that the president and deputy president positions not to be contested in the upcoming party election.
The motion was then supported by the Terengganu representative who was the Marang Umno Division chief Datuk Nik Dir Nik Wan Ku.
The 2022 Umno General Assembly (PAU) on Saturday approved the additional motion and it was not challenged.
Yusoff said the senior leadership should listen to the grassroots who wanted both positions to be contested.
“The representative voice that previously agreed to ‘No Anwar, No DAP’ have been denied by the Umno Supreme Working Council. Why did they suddenly choose now to remain with the representative’s decision not to contest both top positions.
“The branch level voices want the president and deputy president role to be contested, the decision not to contest both positions must be heard by the senior leaderships.
He said Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his deputy Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan should open the stage for their positions to be contested because there are challengers stating their intention to contest.
Yusof stated his regret when there were rumours stating the senior leadership wanted to block contests for division chief positions as well.
“I am disappointed with rumours stating that after the president and deputy president positions, Umno will close all competition for the division chiefs. What I see is there are some parties who want to turn Umno into a party owned by their leaders by killing the democratic process.
“This matter is worrisome because the people will completely lose their faith in Umno. Additionally, the state elections this year will see Umno face some difficulties to win if the party continues to be in turmoil,” he said.
