SABAK BERNAM - Umno is losing the trust and support of the rakyat, similar to a fragile iceberg shrinking in hot weather.
Former Barisan Nasional (BN) Secretary General Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the party was no longer what it used to be; instead, many changes were made that the people did not like.
"That's why this Umno is like ice sitting (drying) in the heat, it will eventually get smaller and smaller," he said when speaking at the Selangor Baharu Talk Ceremony and the Launch of the Sabak Bernam Parliament's Perikatan Nasional (PN) Machinery at Pas Batu 1 Headquarters, Tebuk Pulai, here on Sunday night.
Annuar said that the number of Umno’s popular votes in the previous two general elections was far less than the number of members of the party nationwide.
"If we highlight GE 13 (13th General Election), Umno’s 5.4 million votes are much higher than the 3.2 million members they had at that time.
However, Annuar, who is also the Muafakat Nasional President further said that the situation did not last long as Umno’s popular vote continued to decline.
"The reality is that the number of Umno members is 5 million, but the party's popular vote declined by 1 million in GE14.
"Umno’s popular vote numbers further declined in GE15 when an estimated 2 of their 7 million members left the party.
"I left Umno a little late compared to other Umno friends who joined PN (Perikatan Nasional)," he said.
He explained that the people began to leave Umno because they realised that the party's policy was not in line with what it was during its former glory.
"The rakyat now supports a political party based on its policies,and what the party brings," he explained.