Umno can no longer survive in isolation, needs external input

KUALA LUMPUR - Its worst electoral performance to date -- in the 15th General Election (GE15) -- proves that Umno needs to get out of its echo chamber otherwise the party will continue to suffer more defeats in the future.

Umno, argued supreme council member Datuk Khaidirah Abu Zahar, needed to come to terms with the current reality; that it cannot work in isolation.

“At the end of the day, we need to realise the party should also engage with those outside of the party as well so that we know what's the real situation out there,” she told Sinar Daily when met at they foyer of the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre here today.

In last year's 15th General Election (GE15) on November 19, Umno suffered its worst defeat at the national poll, winning only 26 parliamentary seats compared to the 54 that it won in GE14.

However, the party ultimately managed to form government with PH as GE15 ended in a hung parliament where not a single party had enough numbers to form government on their own.

As such some added that this was a time for the party leadership to do self-reflection and revise their weaknesses after being rejected by the people twice at the national poll since GE14.

"In politics, if we say it's a period of darkness, there are ups and downs in politics and God gave challenges for us to fix what needed to be fixed,” said Umno information chief Isham Jalil.

Admitting that while there were indeed noises following Umno's lost in GE15, Raub Wanita division chief Zulriyaini Yahya insisted no one in the party should be pointing fingers against another.

“The grassroot still support the party but sometimes the leadership; the ones in Wanita, Youth and Puteri need further guidance from the top leadership.

"Nothing will good will come out if we continue to blame one another," she added.