My God, what have they done to Umno, says Musa Hitam

(FMT) – Umno is being dominated by self-interested leaders, which has translated into apparent division in the party, says former deputy prime minister Musa Hitam.

He said everyone in Umno seemed to be competing against one another, but he still remained hopeful that this would reduce in the future for the greater interests of the nation and the party.

“Everyone is interested to know what’s happening to Umno. My only remark is simply to say, ‘My God, what have they done to Umno’,” said Musa, who served as deputy prime minister in the early to mid-1980s.

“Each one is using their position because they want to promote themselves. Of course, they’ll say, no, my interest is with the party. But the self (interest) is the one that is dominating now,” he said at the sidelines of an event here.

With that said, he conceded that there was a democratic process that Umno needed to undergo, describing it as the “different phases in life” of being in a democratic country.

“For example, in Malaysia, we started having literally one party dominating the country. As we went along, anybody could form a political party.

“And the more democratic you are, the more freedom you’re given,” said Musa, who served as Umno’s deputy president from 1981 to 1987.

Asked about the possibility of power-sharing among the various political parties after the next general election, he hinted that this could be a possibility as part of the different phases of Malaysia’s democracy.

“You can criticise each and every one of (the other parties), but then again, why not?”