SHAH ALAM –Ahead of the Umno’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled tomorrow which will look into the constitution amendment over the party election, political analysts believe that the current leadership may be the party’s best bet for the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15).
Senior fellow at Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, political analyst Dr Azmi Hassan said the current leadership was not rooting for an internal election as the election might cause a split among the party.
"Whenever there is an internal election, there will be Team A, Team B and Team C. There will be a split, and Umno is famous for that.
"Also, the current leadership wants to bring Umno in the election and that's the reason why the current leadership wants to avoid the internal election before GE15," he told Sinar Daily.
Dr Azmi said the EGM serves only one purpose, which was to amend the constitution to allow the internal election to be held six months after GE15.
"(I believe) the proposal will be passed by the delegates, I'll be looking at how overwhelming the delegate will vote for the amendment.
"There are voters that want the (internal) election to be held before the GE15, so we are going to witness two groups clashing during the EGM tomorrow," he said.
Dr Azmi also added that those who do not agree with the current leadership would most likely be in trouble as the EGM signified that the current leadership would decide on the candidates representing the party.
"Those who are not in tandem with the current leadership, they are in trouble because basically the president, deputy president and the vice president hold the power on who can or cannot be the candidates.
"I think that is an important tool for Umno or for current leadership if the election is to be held after GE15," Dr Azmi said.
Meanwhile, senior fellow of the National Council of Professors Dr Jeniri Amir said it was important to hold the EGM before the GE15 to avoid any crisis before the election.
"Umno have to be solid as they can't afford to split before the election, because a split in the party will affect its performance.
"So, it is important for them to consolidate and ensure that the party is very solid," he said.
Dr Jeniri also said the general election should be the the center focus instead of the party election at the moment to avoid any problems.
He also said the event expected to be held tomorrow signified that GE15 was right around the corner.
The motion for a constitutional amendment to allow the election process to be held after the GE15 was proposed by the Umno Supreme Working Council during the Umno general assembly last month, which was unanimously supported by the representatives who were present.
Last week, it was reported that Umno vice president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin would be the one to present the motion in the EGM.
Earlier, Gua Musang MP Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said he had no problem supporting the planned constitutional amendment agenda, but it should not be done merely for the purpose of maintaining the position of one or two certain leaders.
Tengku Razaleigh insisted that any major decision made by the party should benefit the society especially the Malays in the country.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan had also emphasised that the amendment proposal on Umno’s constitution for the party polls to be held after the GE15 was expected to be easily approved at the EGM.
He said that even if the motion has been approved during the general assembly, it needed to be done in accordance with the procedures of the Registrar of Societies.
It was understood that the motion would be presented in front of 2,666 representatives during the EGM tomorrow.
The event would take place at Dewan Merdeka World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, followed by a double celebration for Umno's anniversary and Hari Raya AidilFitri.