If the Larut MP Hamzah Zainuddin was telling the truth, that 36 BN MPs including 33 from UMNO had only a month ago signed letters of support for the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, and that UMNO President Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi was kept completely in the dark, it portends two possibilities:
· Firstly, that as many as another 20 UMNO MPs are set on leaving UMNO, resulting in UMNO, which at one time claimed the divine right to rule the country, to the regional status of PAS in having less than 20 MPs; and
· Secondly, that Zahid Hamidi’s tenure as UMNO President is likely to be the shortest in UMNO history.
The Anti-ICERD rally of PAS and UMNO in Kuala Lumpur on 8th December 2018 had acted as a catalyst for the implosion in UMNO, losing 10 Members of Parliament after the rally.
What former UMNO Minister and Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed said on September 18, 2018 when quitting UMNO bears remembering.
Mustapha said UMNO had not made any efforts to rejuvenate itself.
He said to be relevant in a dynamic national political scenario today, Umno as the backbone of Barisan, cannot depend on the sole support of the Malays and Bumiputras.
He said: “My political principle is that Umno should be inclusive, moderate and a party that takes the middle path.
“Umno must continue to fight for the rights of Bumiputras and Islam, but should never sideline the importance of other races and religions.
“I believe this is the best way in a multiracial country like Malaysia.”
Based on the latest developments, he felt that it was getting difficult to salvage the diminishing trust deficit and Umno’s image.
He said he saw no sign that the majority of the multiracial and multireligious people in Malaysia “will once again trust the party’s struggles”.
He said: “I pray that our country will remain peaceful, prosperous and internationally respected.
“May the new chapter in Malaysia create a more mature and inclusive political culture which prioritises integrity and governance.”
Former Prime Minister and UMNO President, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the UMNO leadership is not entirely to blame following the recent flight of lawmakers and other members from the party.
Saying he was “disappointed” with the exodus from UMNO, the former Umno president said the party was undergoing a “natural cleansing”.
Najib is shedding crocodile’s tears as he has single-handedly destroyed UMNO by his kleptocratic rule and the monstrous 1MDB corruption and money-laundering scandal as well as the other 1MDB-like scandals in Tabung Haji, Felda, Felcra, MARA – making Malaysia suffer the infamy, ignominy and iniquity of being condemned by the whole world as a global kleptocracy.
The expulsion of Najib from UMNO may be the only step to save UMNO from total extinction although even this step may be too late.
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Saturday, 15th December 2018)