[UPDATED] Umno elections will weaken party if held before GE15: Asyraf

KUALA LUMPUR – Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has warned that having party polls before the 15th general election (GE15) would only “weaken” Umno before it faces the grand battle to secure power in Putrajaya. 

In a visible move to support his party boss Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s call for internal elections to be held only after GE15, Asyraf cautioned against allowing destabilising fractures to take place within the outfit. 

He said that there are rifts in the party every time an internal electoral race takes place, and it takes time for the leadership, as well as ordinary members, to recuperate. 

“In Umno, democracy is fertile. There are winners and losers. Each time a party election is held, our strength would decrease by 30%. 

“We will not be able to face the general election if we do not have optimum strength,” he told reporters at the Umno general assembly in the World Trade Centre here today. 

Therefore, he said the party has decided to have its party polls after the upcoming GE15. 

“Don’t wage war when we are wounded,” he said. 

The assembly has since yesterday seen bold calls for Parliament to be dissolved early to pave the way for an early GE15, although the current five-year term expires in May next year.

This comes on the back of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) resounding victory in the Johor state election on March 12, when it swept 40 of the 56 seats up for grabs.

Prior to that, BN also achieved a massive win in the Melaka state election in November, while its ally Gabungan Parti Sarawak swept the Sarawak state election the following month.

Commenting on the party’s relationship with PAS under the Muafakat Nasional (MN) pact, Asyraf, who is a former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, is of the opinion that his party did not leave the alliance.  

Instead, he said, it was the Islamist party which ended the cooperation by choosing to side with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the recent state elections that have been held.  

“It was PAS which turned its back on Umno. In fact, we still wanted to save (MN) in Melaka.  

“We allowed them to contest under PAS’ own logo, and we were ready to give them seats which would guarantee them victory. But they made a decision to use PN’s logo.  

“It made things difficult, because in Umno’s general assembly last year, we had decided that we could not work together with Bersatu,” he stressed, referring to the rival party that leads PN. 

Asked if he supports ending the alliance, he said it is not his call.

He asserted that the decision must be made in a fair manner. 

“It is a bilateral commitment, it is not unilateral. But we can’t be so shameless if they don’t want us.” – The Vibes, March 18, 2022