The Malaysian Insight

SOME say it will take two election cycles before Umno can even hope to return to power.

Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has a much grimmer outlook: Umno will be crippled for good if the members fail to embrace change.

And a good way to start is to stop blaming the goods and services tax or the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal for the 14th general election defeat, said the outgoing Wanita head.

All said and done, she said, the reversals on May 9 was because Umno had lost touch with the reality of the Malaysian social and political landscape.

For example, she said, leaders should engage more with the people.

“We have failed there. We did not take much to social media. Our engagement with the people was poor.

“I believe that this is the time for Umno to be really bold in self-reflection. If we don’t change, I fear that we will be crippled forever,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Her talk of change and reform is certain to elicit cynicism and brickbats from her party colleagues and the Malaysian public. The reason: her family’s involvement in the National Feedlot Corporation scandal is a microcosm of what many voters finds distasteful about Umno and its politics of patronage.

Barisan Nasional lost control of the federal government, along with seven states. Umno, the lynchpin of the coalition, managed to win only 54 parliamentary seats, compared with the 88 it won in the 2013 general election.

Shahrizat said voters had sent a clear message that Umno and BN’s ways were no longer acceptable.

“Maybe they want Umno and BN to change… they want changes within Umno, a new way, and they don’t want warlords, they want Umno to be more inclusive.

“We were lacking presence on social media. Our relationship with the people was also lacking. The way we fought, the way we carried out our policies and laws. They (voters) want the culture in Umno to change.”

Still, Shahrizat said, it was not too late for the party to turn the tide. The party polls on June 30 are crucial as a new leadership could potentially breathe new life into Umno.

“If we say we want to fight for our faith, race, country, how do we do it?

“The way we fight must change,” said the former minister who did not contest in GE14.‎

Shahrizat has said she will not be seeking re-election as the head of Umno’s women’s wing.

All party positions – including the president and deputy president’s – are open to contest.

After BN and Umno’s blistering defeat in GE14, Najib Razak resigned as coalition and party chief, leaving Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to serve as interim chief. – June 10, 2018.