KUALA LUMPUR - Umno must accept the fact that the Malays have rejected the party and it is no longer their main choice,
Raub division youth chief Fadzli Mohamad Kamal said this was proven when Umno no longer became the Malay party that won the most seats in the 15th General Election (GE15).
He said Umno was a party that modernised the Malays and brought them out of the villages and the outskirts to experience a better life.
"However, until now, we did not have the capabilities to touch the heart of the Malays in the cities.
"Like it or not, we are not a Malay party with the highest seats won.
"Those outside the cities have started rejecting us. The ones in the cities had long left us.
"The Malays no longer saw a special connection and intimacy with Umno. The faster we accept this fact, the better.
"GE15 became a clear and stern guide. There are several realities about Umno and Malays that we must realise and accept,” he said when he debated the president’s policy speech at the 2022 Umno General Assembly (PAU) at Dewan Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre (WTCKL), here, on Saturday.
The Umno Raub Youth chief said the emergence of other parties which brought the same narrative also became the factor of Umno as the largest Malay party being rejected.
He explained that was not the only reason, the other parties also ‘launched’ several movements to topple and replace Umno.
"There are those who want to bury Umno. There are those who want us to disband. This meant Umno had competitors who were not only growing but had varieties,” he said.
He said Umno must wake up and rebuild the trust towards the Malays and this party.
"Many Malays out there have already imagined their future without Umno. Many Malays are beginning to believe they no longer require Umno to represent them,” he said.