Umno lost because leaders cannot tell right from wrong, says Johari

Nabihah Hamid Nabihah Hamid Updated 7 years ago · Published on 30 Jun 2018 5:04PM · 2 Comments

Former second finance minister Johari Abdul Ghani says Umno lost the 14th general election because party leaders thought they were invincible. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, June 30, 2018.

UMNO suffered heavy losses in the 14th general election (GE14) because party leaders thought they were invincible, said former second finance minister Johari Abdul Ghani.

“We thought that voters would accept whatever we did even when what we did was wrong.

“We were not transparent, open and had come to fear facing voters and their issues directly,” Johari told The Malaysian Insight.

He said that when a party has lost its integrity and credibility, it would inevitably lose the support of voters.

“The voters saw that we did not seem to care whether we were right or wrong. That’s why they punished us,” said Johari, who lost the Titiwangsa seat to newcomer Rina Harun from Bersatu in last month’s elections.

He said that Umno had taken the voters’ grouses for granted.

“When they complained, we brushed it aside too quickly,” said Johari.

The Titiwangsa division chief is among seven candidates vying for one of the three vice-presidents’ slots in Umno’s party polls today.

The other candidates include Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Sheikh Razali Sheikh Hamad, Mahadzir Khalid, Tajuddin Abdul Rahman and Ahmad Said.

In the run-up to the party’s elections today, candidates and leaders have begun to speak more openly about what caused Umno and Barisan Nasional’s defeat on May 9.

While candidates such as Johari and Khairy Jamaluddin blamed themselves and the 1Malaysia Development Bhd issue, other leaders such as Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Annuar Musa remained adamant that the setback was due to Pakatan Harapan’s election tactics and the failure of component parties such as MCA, MIC and Gerakan. – June 30, 2018.

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Comments

  • It is good that they experience this rude awakening. Now they realise they are just mortals and can't lord over the people anymore.

    Posted 7 years ago by Henry Mancini Jr · Reply

  • My limited understanding is that Islam also looks after everybody in their fold, including visitors just passing thro' the "village". Years ago my English architect acquaintance & I were well looked after by simple villagers when we stopped over on our way to Penang and rested in the car outside Taiping. A household insisted on sharing their dinner with us & even brought out what might have been their only double mattress to the hall floor for us to sleep on. Next a.m. we were treated to coffee and some folk gathered to wave us goodbye. Aren't the Malay people simply great? We are fortunate to be among them. My friend certainly thought so. Long live Malaysia!..

    Posted 7 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply