Umno leader moots referendum for 3m grassroots on ties with DAP

Umno leader Isham Jalil has suggested conducting a referendum for the party’s three million members to gauge their stand on the cooperation with DAP.

The supreme council member raised this after claiming that his proposal for Umno to contest on its own in elections reflected the view of the grassroots.

He was responding to DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke, who had dismissed it as nothing more than a personal opinion.

“That's what Isham Jalil said, not Umno. He does not represent Umno. He is just one leader," the transport minister told a media conference in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

However, Isham claimed the grassroots wanted Umno to defend the rights of the Malays and not "follow DAP's lead" in advocating for a “Malaysian Malaysia”.

"If you want to know exactly what the Umno grassroots want, you can request the pro-DAP Umno members to conduct a referendum and ask the three million Umno members if they want to cooperate with DAP or not," he said in a Facebook posting.

Earlier, Isham said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong had only ordered the formation of a government with Pakatan Harapan, but not to contest in elections as a coalition.

His statement was based on Umno’s dismal performance in the recent state elections, where it only won 19 of the 108 seats contested.

Isham had also claimed that his and several other Umno leaders’ heads would roll this week for not aligning with DAP.

During Sunday’s DAP national congress, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi made history by becoming the first Umno president to attend the event.

Addressing the concerns of Umno, Loke, in his speech, pledged that DAP would also always adopt a moderate approach.

He stressed that DAP is “not a communist but a centre-left party whose struggles and objectives are centred on the Federal Constitution”.

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