Umno no longer national player, says analyst
Pundit says party reduced to ‘regional’ organisation.
(The Vibes) – UMNO must come to terms with its diminished national-level influence after suffering several significant electoral defeats since 2018, according to a political scientist.
Much like PAS, which is seen as a dominant force in the Malay-majority states of the northern east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Professor Wong Chin Huat believes Umno is now mainly a regional party, with its influence largely confined to the southern parts of the peninsula.
“The recent Umno general assembly discussed ambitious goals, such as regaining a two-thirds majority in future elections. However, they overlooked a key issue,” said the Sunway University academic.
Wong suggested that Umno should first recognise that it has been reduced to a “regional” party based on the results of recent elections.
He pointed out that PAS had almost wiped out Umno in the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, while the party’s presence is minimal in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) strongholds of Penang and Selangor.
“Umno holds the most sway only in Negri Sembilan,” he said.
Wong highlighted that in the six states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Penang, and Selangor, there are a combined total of 75 parliamentary and 224 state seats. Of these, the Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition holds no parliamentary seats and just five state seats (2.23%).
In contrast, Perikatan Nasional (PN), led by PAS, secured 48 (64%) parliamentary seats and 155 (69.10%) state seats in these states. Meanwhile, PH won 27 (36%) parliamentary seats and 64 (28.57%) state seats.
“With such a narrow margin of victory, it will be challenging for Umno to attract new talent in states where they have lost ground. Naturally, the most talented individuals are likely to join parties with a better chance of winning,” Wong said in a social media post.
Although Umno performed worst in Terengganu, failing to win a single seat, Wong pointed out that the party’s weakest performance, in terms of vote share, was in the PH-dominated states of Penang and Selangor.
