Umno polls to proceed this year amid infighting

PUTRAJAYA • Umno will go ahead with its party elections this year, amid calls for polling to be held soon to resolve bitter infighting among its leaders.

"An appropriate date sometime this year will be fixed to hold party elections for all levels," said Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan.

The party last week decided to postpone its annual assembly and internal polls, which were to be held at the end of the month due to the surge in coronavirus cases and the declaration of emergency.

Umno had originally planned to hold the annual meeting and elections last month, but they were postponed due to Malaysia's Covid-19 situation. The party polls are held every three years.

In its last elections in June 2018, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was elected president as Najib Razak stepped down after losing in the general election in the previous month.

Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, the former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar, was elected deputy president.

Umno also elected Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob, former Cabinet minister Mahdzir Khalid and former Johor menteri besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin as vice-presidents.

But after coming to power in end-February last year by riding with the political party of Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno is today wracked by conflicting agendas and a failure to repair its graft-tarred image.

The simmering tensions in Umno surfaced in recent weeks, with party leaders clashing publicly on how to continue working with Tan Sri Muhyiddin's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

Some of its leaders, including its president Zahid and former president Najib, planned to abandon PM Muhyiddin and work instead with opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Others wanted to continue working with Bersatu, lead party of the Perikatan Nasional government.

There have been calls within Umno to quickly hold its internal polls to resolve the conflict among its leaders.

Political analyst Sivamurugan Pandian said the party polls would be an acid test of Umno's readiness to face the next general election, which could be held this year.

"The backlash within the party will be bigger if it is postponed. Holding elections would let the party resolve internal issues relating to party leadership," he said.

Said Umno supreme council member Abdul Rahman Dahlan: "We must give the chance to the grassroots to determine the future of the party at a time when the party is facing unprecedented challenges all around us.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK