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Wu Yishen said that if UMNO really wanted to regain its dominance, it must once again safeguard the interests of the people rather than the interests of a few.
(FMT) – A political analyst has dismissed Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh’s call for the party to work hard to regain dominance in the government, saying one-party supremacy is a thing of the past.
Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi said this was the political reality in many other countries around the world, including some of Malaysia’s neighbours in Southeast Asia.
He told FMT that even in Indonesia, there is no longer one dominant party, such as the Suharto-led Independence Party that ruled Indonesia for decades before 1998.
Awang Azman said power-sharing was the basis of cooperation, with multiple parties in the government working together to form a form of checks and balances.
In recent years, hung parliaments have become common in many countries after elections, and countries such as Canada, France and New Zealand have also chosen to cooperate to form governments.
In Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai party once dominated politics, but recent election results forced it to share power with other parties.
At the Umno Youth Congress on Thursday, Akmal said Umno should not be content with just being part of the federal government. He said Umno should strive to become the dominant force again.
The Melaka state executive councillor also said Umno, which currently has 26 elected MPs, must strive to obtain two-thirds of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat.
Wu Yishen of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs agreed, but did not rule out the possibility of UMNO returning to its former glory, saying anything is possible in Malaysian politics today.
However, he said UMNO must rediscover its original purpose and undergo serious reforms to regain its dominant position.
He said UMNO must shed its image of seeking benefits for a minority and return to its roots of seeking benefits for the majority of the people.
Meanwhile, Awang Azman pointed out that Umno already holds a prominent position in the current government, occupying seven cabinet posts, compared to the DAP, which has 40 MPs but only got five ministerial posts.
He said before dreaming of dominating Malaysian politics again, UMNO must first strengthen its grassroots, especially its youth wing, to gain support ahead of future elections.
Without that strength, (Akmal’s call) would be mere rhetoric at the convention, he said, adding that the first real test facing the party would be the Sabah state election, which must be held no later than December 2025.
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