Past Malay unity attempts failed because of seat clashes, says Tampin Umno chief
Isam Isa says Umno’s willingness to sacrifice winnable seats in Negeri Sembilan helped unite Malay voters and return the party to power.
Tampin Umno chief Isam Isa claims that prior efforts to unite Malay-based political parties faltered due to conflicts over seat allocations. Addressing the Umno president’s policy speech at a recent general assembly, Isam highlighted the difficulties in negotiating seat deals due to the varying levels of strength of Umno and PAS across different states.
He acknowledged that it was challenging and not easy to accept that certain states favored Umno while others leaned towards PAS. Despite identifying potential candidates, Isam emphasized that Negeri Sembilan Umno was prepared to forgo winnable seats like Gemas, Klawang, and Sikamat for the sake of broader Malay political unity. He stressed that a lack of compromise would impede understanding and progress.
The Negeri Sembilan government's return to Umno's leadership was a result of their willingness to make concessions. Isam called for Umno to remain a loyalty-based organization rather than one founded on positions, urging members to stay committed even when the party is out of power. He stressed the importance of remaining loyal during tough times, enduring defeat, and not abandoning the party when it is not in a position of power.
Isam criticized former Umno leaders Puad Zarkashi and Tengku Zafrul Aziz for treating the party as a "political transit station," with Puad resigning from Umno in June following his decision not to defend the Rengit seat, and Tengku Zafrul departing the party in May and joining PKR in August.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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