SHAH ALAM - In order to stand a chance of another uprising, Umno, the oldest Malay political party, requires more, a better crop of leaders and an extra echelon.
Political expert Datuk Prof Dr Jayum Anak Jawan of Universiti Putra Malaysia pointed out that Umno will find it challenging to make a comeback in the upcoming elections, thus how they cope with it will be determined by the party elections which will begin today and run through March 18.
"Umno is oldest Malay political party. They need more, better crop of leaders and second echelon to have some chance of rising again.
"So far, there are no new ideas on how they would help resurrect Umno and it is like a sunken Titanic and waiting to be documented in an archive," he told Sinar Daily.
For the Wanita Umno chief seat, there appears to be a battle of giants with former Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Jalil coming in on a manifesto to help resurrect Umno, standing against Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad, who is the incumbent.
"For Shahrizat, her time has passed. She was as good as she got and she is also not without controversy, so many may not be comfortable being associated with her or voting for her.
"What’s more, with "reforms" in high gear, she may not be able to water down her previous controversy should her opponent want to play up the old issue. It is also doubtful if Noraini can steer Wanita Umno towards her party’s resurrection.
"Umno fell during her watch and was out of power after more than 60 years heading the Malaysian and Malaysian governments. In fact, Umno also fell under Shahrizat, who retired after Umno’s defeat in 2018," he added.
Jayum continued by saying that there is no widely recognised name for the Umno youth and Puteri wings seats.
"For these two seats, all candidates will have an equal chance. It does not matter who gets elected to Umno Youth, Wanita Umno, or Puteri Umno because these wings are meant to break in young leaders and prepare them for higher, more important positions in the party. These 3 wings are like a training ground."
He added that the presidency is of utmost significance because it will determine whether Umno will recover from its pitiful state following its loss in the previous two general elections.
He also said that it is doubtful that Umno members would be given the best choices if there was no competition.
Echoing Jayum’s views, political analyst from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dr Abdul Aziz Azizam commented that there are no interesting dynamics that the Wanita, Puteri or youth wing leaders can offer to the party leadership.
"It is because the candidates who are likely to win and the potential winners one can predict are those who are preferably pro-president, who are actually the burden to the Malay party itself."