Ariff Aizuddin Azlan of Universiti Teknologi Mara said the Malays, especially former Umno members, had grown accustomed to Perikatan Nasional (PN) as the new vanguard of their struggle.
“If this migration (of Umno members to PN) is not handled well, I fear Umno will lose its relevance for a long time,” he told FMT.
Ariff was commenting on an exclusive interview Tengku Razaleigh had given with FMT, during which he said that the rift among the Malays and formation of new parties had weakened the community’s political influence.
Tengku Razaleigh, also known as Ku Li, said Bersatu and PAS only enjoyed large Malay support today due to dissatisfaction with Umno’s inability to stick to its principles.
Ariff said Tengku Razaleigh’s comments were backed by the decision of many important figures in Umno to leave the party and contest on opposition tickets, largely in protest against the leadership of Umno’s top leaders, including its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“Grassroots supporters have begun to switch direction and choose PN, which champions the same issues, that is Malay and Islam,” he said.
However, Azmi Hassan, a fellow at the National Professors Council, said Umno’s invitation to members previously fired from the party to rejoin its ranks would signal to its grassroots that it was ready to return to its former strength.
But he said doing so would require leaders who have long held the reins to step back and give way to newer ones such as Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan, who have their own followers.
Azmi said Umno veterans could remain as advisers, emulating Tengku Razaleigh who has been a strident critic and generator of ideas for the party’s leadership.
“If older politicians are called back, let them be like Ku Li, giving advice from behind the scenes and no longer actively holding posts.
“This is important because Umno’s issue is the Malays’ loss of trust and confidence in the party’s leadership.
“This is the best time for the leadership to be gracious if they feel they have been at the party’s reins for too long and need to give new faces a chance,” he said.