Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya said a major factor for Umno’s loss is its leaders’ detachment from the hardships faced by ordinary Malaysians.
“They always only connect with people through numbers and statistics. This isn’t enough to create a real connection.
“Eventually, people left them because they didn’t feel as though the Umno leaders were genuinely interested in helping them,” he told FMT.
Awang Azman said Umno members had a habit of “worshipping” their top leaders instead of criticising them or holding them accountable. This, he said, had contributed to Umno’s decline over the years.
Until last week’s general election, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition had had an uninterrupted hold on power, with all six prime ministers coming from the party.
However, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) shock win left BN in tatters, with ousted prime minister Najib Razak resigning as president of Umno and chairman of the coalition.
So who could bring change from within Umno? Awang Azman said former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Mohamad Hasan was a possibility.
“He is a well-liked leader, although his name may have been entangled with some corruption issues back in the day. Otherwise, he is a good and respected leader in Umno.
“Another person would be Tok Pa,” he added, referring to former international trade and industry minister Mustapa Mohamed.
He said another possible candidate would be Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who took over as acting president of Umno and BN chairman following Najib’s resignation.
“He may not be able to repair the party, but he is a stern character who would be able to ensure that actions are realised,” he said.
Khairy as Umno leader?
But Awang Azman disagrees with a suggestion that Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin play the role of the opposition leader in Parliament, saying the Rembau MP has yet to prove his worth.
“From observation and feedback from the ground, he has not been doing things for the sake of the party but is only interested in making a name for himself.
“He needs to learn the ropes from the party veterans and must humble himself if he eventually wants to take over.”
Md Akbal Abdullah from Universiti Tun Hussein Onn agreed, saying Khairy did not have sufficient experience to reform the party.
“But there are a few things that its members must do. One of them is to get rid of leaders who are only interested in playing the cronyism game.
“As long as these people are around, the party will not recover,” he said.
Awang Azman also dismissed the possibility of Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah taking the lead in efforts for change.
“I don’t think he is interested. When my team and I were doing a survey in Kelantan a few weeks before polling day, he was rallying support for Najib, but at some points he seemed to be supporting Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Ku Li plays a safe game, he doesn’t take risks,” Awang Azman said, using the nickname for Tengku Razaleigh.