Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya told FMT the party risked further damage to its reputation if it continued to waver between staying with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s administration and leaving it.
If it chooses to pull out, he said, it must give a reason that would not give the impression that it was just out to grab power.
“This means there must be a clear game plan as to what it is trying to achieve by pulling out. It cannot be seen as just an attempt to destabilise the government,” he said.
A recent poll by an online news portal found that 82% of about 76,000 respondents would support Umno’s exit from the government.
The poll came amid discussions among Umno leaders over a plan for the party to withdraw support for the administration before Aug 1.
Awang Azman said he believed now was the best time for Umno to pull out from the government as there was some momentum for it.
Moreover, he said, the party’s positions on current issues were in line with popular sentiment, and noted in particular the black flag and white flag campaigns, which he said signalled public unhappiness and distress.
“But it must be stressed that any move by Umno towards forming a new government must be accompanied by a strong, clear plan on how it can do better than PN,” he said.
However, Jeniri Amir, a fellow with the National Council of Professors, said quitting the government now might not work in Umno’s favour as the people’s anger with the current administration was also directed at Umno members holding prominent positions.
Jeniri noted that key portfolios like health, defence and vaccination were held by Umno men and said the party would not be helping to solve the nation’s problems by quitting the administration.
He said Umno should be supporting Putrajaya in facing those problems and PN’s leaders should be open to suggestions from outside the government.
“They need to be more sensitive to the people on the ground. The focus should be on addressing the public health crisis and also the economic crisis we’re facing,” he said.