Federal Territories Umno Youth information chief Wan Agyl Hassan said the party’s top leaders should not have to compromise with the pecking order in selecting the best candidates.

All state Umno chiefs have been asked to submit their list of candidates for the Nov 19 general election (GE15). Almost always, the candidates are the divisional leaders.

“Typically, the office bearers in an Umno division draw up the shortlist for each constituency. This has been the norm. And there is a lot of pressure on the top leaders to accommodate the requests from the divisions.

“In the end, people who make good candidates may not get a seat to contest for. Isham Jalil’s case is perhaps the best example,” Wan Agyl told FMT.

He was referring to reports that Isham, an Umno Supreme Council member, may not be nominated for GE15. Isham has been among the party’s most vocal leaders but does not hold any divisional post.

“Don’t let hierarchy bring us down,” Wan Agyl said. “The reality is that times have changed.

“In other countries, there is a separation between party leadership and government leadership. Those in the party hierarchy are not necessarily in government. So the party acts as a check and balance for the government. It has the most incentive to do so. Otherwise it will be rejected at the next polls.”

He cited the example of the government led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was not the president of his party, Umno.

He said that in such a situation, the party could, for instance, push the government to allow EPF withdrawals for certain reasons.

“If the party president is the prime minister, who will question anything the government does? And you’ll end up losing sight of realities on the ground. We were taught this lesson in GE14.”

Wan Agyl said Umno now had the opportunity to show its commitment to reform by pushing the agenda of separation of politics and governance.