Ramasamy: Umno's 'deadly embrace' of DAP a factor in its decline

Former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has pointed to Umno’s alliance with DAP as a factor in the former dominant party’s decline.

Umno was hampered not only by the misdeeds of its past and present leaders but by its “strange relationship” with DAP, he said in a statement today.

“Umno, the grand old party of the Malays, can never again regain its past political supremacy as long it is weighed down by this.

“Umno and DAP were sworn enemies for years before they came together in a political embrace after the last general election.

“Even if the political leaders of both parties have reasons of political expediency to embrace each other, Umno grassroots members are bitter,” said Ramasamy (above) who ditched DAP after being dropped as a candidate in last year’s Penang state polls.

He claimed that in the recent Sungai Bakap by-election, ordinary grassroots Umno members voted for the Perikatan Nasional candidate and that this trend would persist.

Ramasamy is trying to hitch his new political vehicle Urimai to the PN bandwagon.

Pact source of discontent

The Urimai founder opined that it was difficult for Umno grassroots to view DAP in a positive light.

“Umno members who have been socialised to hate DAP as the source of all political evils cannot digest the political pact under the Pakatan Harapan-led government.

“Leaders of both parties may rub shoulders in political meetings but the feelings and sentiments of the grassroots members are different.

“Ahmad Zahid Hamidi might be the president of Umno, but his actions are a source of discontent within the party. There might be personal reasons he led the way to embrace DAP,” Ramasamy added.

The former Perai assemblyperson also accused DAP of masquerading as a multi-ethnic political party.

“DAP wants to replace MCA as the sole representative of the Chinese without calling itself a Chinese party,” Ramasamy claimed.

Umno had governed the country for over 60 years before its fall from grace, garnering only 26 out of 222 parliamentary seats in the 2022 general election.

Ramasamy claimed that the longer Umno is caught in its political embrace with DAP, the longer it will take the party to resonate among ordinary Malays.

“Joining the Harapan-led coalition might be beneficial for the top echelons of the Umno leadership, but for ordinary members, having ties with DAP is not acceptable.

“The longer Umno continues its relationship with DAP, more and more members will try to seek greener pastures in PAS and Bersatu.

“Umno’s problems are not all about its relationship with DAP as the party cannot be reinvigorated or reinvented without purging some of its leaders who have shoddy dealings,” he added, pointing to Zahid’s dismissal of 47 corruption and money laundering charges.

“Umno is in serious trouble. The party that brought independence to the country might face a slow but sure demise,” he said.

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