ISSUES related to the choice of general election (GE) candidates and cooperation with PAS were among popular topics brought up during Umno divisional meetings over the weekend, grassroots leaders said. 

They told The Malaysian Insight these two issues were raised as solving them would improve Umno’s chances for success in the GE. 

In Johor, the most heated meeting took place in Segamat, where the party wants its ally MIC to give up the seat so Umno can win back the seat from the opposition. 

In the last GE, the seat was won by Edmund Santhara for PKR before the lawmaker defected to Bersatu, only to jump to Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) later. 

Segamat Umno Youth leader Bastien Onn said the delegates insisted the seat be returned to the Malay party. 

Bastien, however, said his division would comply with any decision made by Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) top leaders.

Things are getting complicated as Santhara’s new party PBM has applied to join BN, while MIC has identified a party heavyweight to win Segamat back. 

Bastien said the issue of cooperation between Umno and PAS was a hot topic, but the Segamat division accepts the party’s decision not to cooperate with the Islamist party.

He said Johor Umno will not be affected if PAS does not cooperate with it.

“Segamat Umno will abide by the decision and we are confident that Johor Umno can stand without PAS,” he said. 

Umno’s 191 divisional meetings lasted for two days and ended on Sunday. The conference did not touch on party elections after amendments were made to the party constitution to postpone party polls until after the GE.

Umno has been allowed to postpone its elections for up to six months after the GE or up to 18 months from the end of its leadership term.

Local, young, ‘clean’ candidates 

In Terengganu, a representative who declined to be named said most of the divisions want the leadership to field “clean” candidates in the GE.

The representative from Kuala Terengganu said they also want party leaders to present more new faces, especially from among younger members.

“The strategy is very important to attract young people who we know are fence sitters. No one can predict what their sentiments will be.

“This is not like traditional voters who are easy to read. This should be emphasised to the leadership if we really want to win with a large majority,” he said.

As of April 2022, the number of new voters in Terengganu is reported to have reached almost 300,000 of those aged between 18 and 30.

The representative hopes that the leadership would not repeat the mistakes of the 2018 GE when they presented outsiders as candidates. 

He said it was one of the factors for Umno’s defeat in Terengganu because the candidates did not align with voter sentiments. 

“Voters in Terengganu like local candidates. If the candidate is an outsider, they will be rejected.

“This is what happened in the Kuala Nerus parliamentary seat in GE14. Umno lost badly to PAS with a large majority because of this factor,” he said.

Kuala Nerus is among 27 seats that have been mentioned as constituencies that will see fierce competition between Umno and PAS.

The same sentiment was expressed by Umno representatives from Marang, who submitted a specific motion to reject “parachute candidates” in the GE.

Its division head Nik Dir Nik Wan Ku, who is also Terengganu Umno information chief, said candidates chosen must be leaders in the party’s state or division political structure.

“We want our own people, in our own section. Those who are not in the leadership, outsiders whom we don’t know, suddenly come (so we reject those candidates),” he stressed.

Winning without PAS’ support 

In Bandar Tun Razak, one of the Malay-majority seats in Kuala Lumpur, the Umno chapter is disappointed it cannot cooperate with PAS this GE. 

Its division chief Razak Rizalman Mokhtar in his speech said PAS’ decision to choose Perikatan Nasional (PN) is a disappointment to the grassroots.

But he insisted that PAS’ decision won’t affect Umno and is confident his party can go solo to gain support and win back the seat. 

“I want to say this because I don’t want the people to accuse Umno of breaking its promise to unify Malays and Muslims. Umno always opens its doors to Muslim unity.

“Umno always allows for views and suggestions so that the idea of uniting the Muslim community can be strengthened and also defended. 

“But when PAS has officially made a decision, then we will go solo to face and convince the people to continue to support Umno.”

PAS last week decided to choose PN as an ally in the GE, which, according to its president Abdul Hadi Awang, was made on the principle of unifying the Muslim community. – October 18, 2022.