Despite critics’ bleak portrayal of Umno’s future, returnee Isa Samad says party has proven to withstand test of time
KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abd Samad who returned to Umno last week believes that the party is still relevant in the current political climate as it plays a role in ensuring the stability of the unity government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The former Umno vice-president said the Malay nationalist party that won only 30 parliamentary seats in GE15 last year has weathered many challenges to its power, and proven its ability to withstand the test of time.
“Who would have thought that with the same 30 seats, Umno was offered the deputy prime minister’s post. This is all God’s work.
“People out there might say there was an ulterior motive, but it was these 30 seats that have helped the country’s stability in forming a government,” he told Utusan Malaysia in an interview published today.
Isa, who was Negeri Sembilan’s longest serving menteri besar, believes that the country will not achieve stability if Umno had acted headstrong and in an insistent manner like its political rivals in Perikatan Nasional (PN).
“What if Umno had rejected the proposal? What would happen to our country then?
“Instead Umno complied with being part of the unity government following the Yang di-Pertuan Agong’s decree that called for political stability.
“After all, Umno is a party that defends the country’s sovereignty and the position of the Malay Rulers,” Isa was quoted as saying.
Asked about Umno’s strength in attracting support from the Malay community given its poor performance in the last general election, Isa said the party is only going through a phase and the GE15 results do not spell its end.
He told Utusan Malaysia that in politics nothing is permanent as there are its ups and downs.
The returnee who left Umno in October 2018 said he is not like some in the party who were quick to denounce it after GE15.
“They said that once Umno loses, it’s the end.
“For me, it is not the end yet. We must understand that it is not easy to dissolve Umno. It will still exist, provided its fighting spirit continues.
“Politics is dynamic, some lose, some win,” Isa told the newspaper.
