Umno not strong enough to attract Kelantanese’s support

SHAH ALAM – Umno’s position at the moment is not strong enough to gain the support of the people of Kelantan, instead, the party still needs to prove that they are capable of re-establishing stimulation as the dominant political party of Muslims who support the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara.

Universiti Teknologi Mara Information and Media Warfare Security and Political Analyst Dr Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin however said it was not impossible that Umno could be the choice if the party could implement a new political diplomacy to form the power of Islamic political dominance which is the main core in the state.

He said the approach was important to convince the public about the importance of Umno through a grassroots movement and a strong political vision, in addition to being free from criticism that could bring down Umno’s image.

"Here is Umno’s challenge to draw up an education plan for war of nerves, a new political diplomacy to build a positive perception among the community, in certain areas, especially the people of Kelantan.

"Umno should continue to highlight new faces, new characters to give confidence to the community while also looking at cross-collaboration opportunities among parties or local figures who are able to provide a better situation for the Kelantan Umno leadership," he told Sinar on Monday.

He commented on the statement of Umno President Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was confident that the party would return to be the choice of the people of Kelantan in the future based on the commitment and enthusiasm shown by the state leadership.

Commenting further, Noor Nirwandy said, there were several main cores that could not be separated in the country's politics, including the dominance of Muslim Malay politics which clearly shows a form of significant voting tendency in the past series of elections.

In this regard, he said, Umno needed to ensure that issues of interest to Muslim Malays were achieved in addition to forming a unity to take care of the various races, religions and nationalities in the country.

"It includes issues related to microeconomic approaches, certain economies that are done in isolation, especially in relation to infrastructure.

"Improvement is also one thing that is Umno’s strength to show that the party is capable of being the choice of the people of Kelantan in the future," he said.

He added that despite the existence of various crises and issues that affect public perception, Umno had a record of party successes in state and federal administration.

"This is the time for the reconciliation of the political diplomacy carried out by Umno to form a new form of stimulation for the community to return to see Umno as having the strength and ability to uphold the Constitution and protect the political interests of Muslim Malay dominance," he said.