Umno must review ties with DAP, says supreme council member

Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil has proposed the party review its ties with the DAP as a current ally in the government with Pakatan Harapan.

Isham, who also identified two other reasons for Umno's drubbing in the six state elections, said the party's move to accept working with the DAP remains a sensitive issue.

"About the DAP, I have previously said this is a very sensitive matter for our grassroots.

"(I said) If we force our grassroot to vote for the DAP, they will resist and likely not come out to vote, or worse they protest and vote PN," he said, stressing that his prediction had been proven true with Umno's performance in the six states.

"We must resolve this issue of the DAP. Whether we continue to cooperate with them in government and in elections, or do we just cooperate in government and not during elections," said Isham (above).

BN through Umno - after component parties MCA and MIC agreed to sit out of the state elections - saw the Malay party winning only 19 out of 108 seats it contested, 14 of which are in Negeri Sembilan, led by Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.

Of the remaining five seats, Umno won two out of the 12 seats it contested in Selangor, two in Penang and one in Kelantan.

Lost all seats

Umno also lost all seats it contested for in Kedah and Terengganu, the latter of which also saw PN winning all 32 seats with zero opposition.

In Selangor, Isham also noted that PN candidates received more votes yesterday than when they contested under a PKR ticket, a sign that they now also received support from Umno members.

Overall, Isham said his travels across six states in the last two weeks to campaign and engage with Umno grassroots had identified three main questions.

This comprises ties with DAP, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and jailed former Umno president Najib Razak.

"On issues of the president, I have answered to the best of my ability. I'm not a president's man but I respect the institution.

"I appeal to the president to come down and personally meet with the grassroots, to hold dialogues with them in order to repair the situation," said Isham.

A former special officer to Najib, Isham also reiterated his stance that BN would have stand a better chance in elections with Najib on the campaign trail.

"We must do something. Otherwise Umno will continue to lose and risk being extinct come the next 16th general elections," he warned.

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