Make immediate changes or lose power - Muhyiddin

"I'm afraid if I don't speak the truth, it can eventually lead to disaster for the Malays and Umno."

Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin wants immediate changes made to the party leadership otherwise the part “will fade away”

In an interview with the Mingguan Malaysia yesterday and carried by Bernama Muhyiddin, who is International Trade and Industry Minister, said:

"Umno will fade away and cannot make a comeback anymore if no immediate changes are made to the leadership."

He said the general election results clearly showed the people's misgivings on the party leadership and now people in and outside Umno questioned the party leadership on family links and the system practised.

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"I worry if there are no changes made as demanded not only by Umno members but also by people from outside the party, the people will reject Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno.

"I think the sentiments are boiling at the grassroots of their utter dissatisfaction. Therefore, if changes don't happen in Umno, many adverse things will surface. (His call was echoed by several umno division chiefs from Johore; read here, and here.)

"I'm afraid if I don't speak the truth, it can eventually lead to disaster for the Malays and Umno."

Muhyiddin said the election results also showed the domination of Malay politics through Umno which was long regarded as beyond challenge had purportedly become a myth.

"As such, we thought we cannot lose, but today, many Umno leaders in the five states now under opposition rule never expected to lose power. That's why, to me, it is a very bitter lesson and cannot be taken lightly.

"The question now is to what extent Umno can withstand the wave of the new political thinking in the country. More importantly, the question is to what point the Malay political power can sustain itself in the years ahead.

"Can Umno survive this one term to the 13th (next) general election and will it be able to redeem its loss while we face the wave of new political thinking or will we collapse into the political chasm for good," he said.

Muhyiddin said probably many were not aware of this and there were still those in Umno who regarded the election defeat as merely a normal setback and did not think this was a lasting phenomenon.

Now, the BN does not only have a reduced majority (in parliament), it also failed to defend its long-held two-thirds majority and suffered heavy losses in the states.

This phenomenon should make the Malays, in particular, realise what can actually happen and whether such a political trend would sustain, or matters would become worse or improve.

"To condition our thinking, it is better for us to adopt the worst-scenario approach. If we do not take any immediate steps, we will fade way.

"I've said earlier that political power can slip away from our hands and Umno may never rise again, ever," he added.

(Finally, we have one here, an Umno leader, who has the guts to tell it like it is: Pak lah move over, resign, step aside. Are you listening? Muhyiddin seems be the only party VP willing to speak out loud. He agrees with the call by Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah for an EGM and the grassroots that the nomination quota system be abolished . )