Umno abandoned urban Malay youths, says don
PR component parties resonate with the “lingo” of the youths
Shane Fuentes, Free Malaysia Today
The issue of who is responsible for the disconnect between Umno and Malay youth in the urban areas has been answered if a take in the media by Prof Jayum Jawan, a political analyst with the National Professors Council, can be taken as closer to the Gospel truth.
It’s Umno that’s responsible, according to Jayum, not Pakatan Rakyat (PR), the opposition alliance. In short, Umno abandoned the Malay youths who flocked to the urban areas, not vice versa.
“Any party that wishes to garner support from urban areas, or youths who have migrated to cities, must transform themselves,” said Jayum. “They should know the ‘taste’ of the urbanites, the youths. They have to understand the aspirations of the youths. It’s not for the youths to understand the parties instead.”
PR component parties, noted Jayum, resonate with the “lingo” of the youths.
“They dance to the youths’ rhythms. They try following their ‘taste’, their way of talking. Their tone fits with the youths. Umno should be like that as well, why can’t it?”
The don described it as “unscientific” – cannot be proven — and an “indefensible argument” to assume that urban youth will naturally gravitate towards PR component parties.
The don did not address the issue of how a rural-based party like Umno can fight political causes in the multiracial urban areas too on the basis of race, religion, and country, the party’s mantra in the rural heartland of the peninsula, and get away with it.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Prof Shamsul Adabi Mamat, who lectures in political science, thinks that the urban Malay youth is not entirely a lost cause for Umno despite the fact that they are not as isolated from non-Malay youths as their rural cousins.
“What is more important to discuss is not how to attract them towards Umno, but how Umno can offer its services to the youths,” ventured Shamsul. “A lot of Umno’s discussions revolves around how to attract voters, how to win elections. They should instead respond pro-actively, discuss how to identify with the needs of this group.”
