Ramasamy: “Can UMNO be reinvented to regain Malay voters’ favour?”
PENANG Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy has asked the question on many people’s minds: whether UMNO can reinvent itself in the near future and regain its past glory.
“No one could have imagined that UMNO would go down so fast and so dramatically. Until the onset of the 15th general election (GE15) in Nov 2022, UMNO was the main contender for political power,” Ramasamy pointed out.
“There was a sense on both sides of the political divide that BN [through UMNO] was unstoppable, having captured state power in Melaka and Johor a few months before GE15 in the state polls.”
Ramasamy noted that once the results of the state polls were announced, there was very little confidence going around that “anything could be done to halt the juggernaut that is BN/UMNO from ascendency”.
“However, GE15 gave UMNO a big jolt. It was something that was totally unprecedented in the political history of the country – BN’s winnings were reduced to a mere 30 parliamentary seats while Bersatu together with PAS appeared to be the biggest winner of Malay votes,” he remarked.
“While PH came through with 82 parliamentary seats, the coalition only won 10% of support from the Malays. Perikatan Nasional (PN) with Pas obtained more than 50% of Malay votes, therefore clearly and unequivocally establishing the truth that Malays had deserted their once-champion UMNO.
“To prevent its own demise, UMNO’s only option was to join forces with PH in forming the unity government.”
Ramasamy went on to note that whether UMNO will be able to deliver Malay votes in the coming state elections remains to be seen.
He said since the state polls are only a few months away, it would be miracle on UMNO’s part to be able to re-establish its credentials with the Malays.
