Umno members asked to decide – loyalty to leader or party?

(The Star) – Umno members have to decide if their loyalty lies with the party or its leader as “elements within the party” could lead to its downfall in the next general election, said Pulai MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

He said it would not be Pakatan Rakyat that would cause Barisan Nasional to lose.

“It is because of this that the loyalty of the party’s three million members – to the leader or to the party – needs to be refined as best as possible,” Nur Jazlan said in a blog post on Wednesday.

He questioned whether it was the leader or the party that should be defended by its members.

“At this point, both cannot be defended at the same time. A choice has to be made immediately as Malaysians are watching closely,” said Nur Jazlan.

He pointed out that the crises affecting the government investment arm 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) had now affected Umno as a party.

“At the beginning, the 1MDB financial crisis was a government problem. Now it has become a problem that affects Umno directly as businessman Jho Low has accused Umno of being the mastermind of the issue,” he pointed out.

Jho Low, or Low Taek Jho had hit out at Umno Youth in a recent interview with magazine Euromoney, criticising them for trying to pin 1MDB’s failure on him.

“There seems to be a very, very coordinated attempt to say: ‘This young Chinaman, it’s all his fault, he caused the failure of 1MDB and apparently he advised the PM and everything is screwed up now.

“It’s just crazy, and these Umno guys are spinmasters, they know all this sort of nonsense,” Jho Low was quoted as saying in the report.

On the issue, Nur Jazlan said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak must act quickly to soothe the concerns of Umno members by responding to Jho Low’s allegations, adding that personal issues like the perception of the wealth of Najib’s family needs to be resolved before the people associate 1MDB’s problems with this wealth.

“Silence will lead to disaster for Umno, and this is not needed by the party now, because it has had to be on a defensive mode due to the allegations of government wastage, financial impropriety and abuses of power,” said Nur Jazlan.

He added that unlike former premier, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Najib lacked a Cabinet made up of ministers who can have an effect on the people.

“Najib is surrounded by advisers who care more for their own bellies and getting projects as opposed to fighting all-out to defend him from the attacks he faces,” said Nur Jazlan.

He added that it remained to be seen if Najib would remain as Prime Minister until the next general election in 2018.

“The end will come, sooner or later but the fastest “reset” to ensure all issues is when the Prime Minister announces the dissolution of Parliament for the 14th General Election.

“The Prime Minister could choose a shortcut by calling for snap elections to wash away the negative perception surrounding him and his family with a new mandate,” said Nur Jazlan.