Umno Youth: Party risks losing grassroots if it fails to justify shift

Umno Youth permanent chairperson Wan Agyl Wan Hassan has warned that the party is at risk of losing grassroots support to its rivals in Perikatan Nasional.

According to a Free Malaysia Today report, he said that leaders must explain the “paradigm shift” in its choice of allies or face defections from grassroots members still loyal to former leaders who have resigned or been sacked from Umno.

“These people are not really loyal to the party but to certain individuals hence they would follow them,” Wan Agyl (above) added.

A number of former Umno leaders including former ministers Shahidan Kassim, Noh Omar and Annuar Musa have crossed over to PN recently, while Khairy Jamaluddin is said to be considering an offer to join Bersatu.

“Taking that as a benchmark along with the situation the party is facing with the DAP issue there will be a significant number of grassroots (switching) support to PN,” Wan Agyl said.

Recently Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan urged Umno and BN supporters to back other government coalitions or component parties during the upcoming elections in six states.

This led to Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin seizing the chance to claim that asking Umno members to support DAP was “unusual” for the party and went against Umno principles.

Wan Agyl said it was important that leaders communicate the right message to their grassroots support, or it could drive people away to another party they believe is fighting for the right thing, especially protecting Malay interests.

“Umno used to be that and still is, it is just that the dynamic has changed, the foes have become friends,” he added.

A failure to do so would push Umno grassroots to vote for PN either in protest or because they truly believe in the opposition coalition, he warned.

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