Following its tremendous loss in GE14, Umno has been struggling to revamp the party, and started by sacking their former leader Najib Razak. However, it seems like the party is still playing the same old cards, as Khairy Jamaluddin wrote on his Twitter account.
According to The Star, Khairy who also ran for Umno Presidency recently, pointed out that the party had failed to listen to the rakyat’s voice even after the wake up call in the last general election.
“Since the Umno elections ended, what is my party doing? Playing with racial sentiments, collecting donations for our former president and repeating it again.”
“It isn’t wrong for us to stand in solidarity with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, but that shouldn’t be the only thing that the ‘new Umno’ is offering.”
“We’ve received a knockout punch during the 14th General Election, but we are still deaf to the voices of the people,” Khairy tweeted on 12 July.
Earlier on 5 July, a group of Najib supporters came together to launch a donation campaign in order to raise money for the former prime minister’s bail, which was set at RM1 million.
Aside from this issue, Khairy also highlighted that his colleagues stirring up racial sentiments regarding the appointment of non-Malays into top positions won’t help the party at all.
“If our capital for the 15th General Election is to provoke Malays with the issues of non-Malay appointments as the Attorney-General, Chief Justice and such, then forget about taking back Putrajaya,” he wrote.
He added that instead of harping on these “trivial matters”, the party should focus on the welfare and socio-economic issues of the rakyat. Despite not being given the chance to lead the party, Khairy said he will not leave the party because Umno is still regarded as a “big tent” for Malays.
“I’m not jumping to any parties. I will remain with Umno. I just want to fix my house, so that it will not have an extreme far right and racist image forever,” he added.
Change is never easy, but it’s essential and crucial for Umno if the party wants to stay relevant in Malaysia. Good thinking, Khairy!
Also read: Khairy: PH is Better, BN Never Gave the Opposition Any Funding