Umno veteran Shahrir Samad’s Facebook post sparks speculation about party’s future
JOHOR BARU, Aug 14 — Umno veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad’s latest Facebook post today attracted speculation on his party’s future after he raised questions on the perceptions of the unity government.
The cryptic message is believed to refer to Umno’s electoral performance in the 14th and 15th general elections (GE14 and GE15), as well as the results of last weekend’s state election.
“The GE14 Tsunami, the GE15 Wave, the same as the GE15. The unity government is no longer the cure,” read Shahrir’s Facebook post.
The post received various reactions from the public who wanted the former long-serving Johor Baru MP to be brave and speak out.
Among the comments was by Ahmad Fansuri Mohd Nasir who wanted Shahrir to speak his mind: “Speak up Tan Sri... Don’t have ‘denial syndrome’. Speak the truth even when it’s bitter,” he wrote.
Several others commented that the problem in Umno stemmed from party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is no longer relevant despite being the deputy prime minister.
Others blamed Umno’s poor performance to the party not focusing on its members including the issue of denying former party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s pardon.
Several commentators also wanted Umno to leave the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-BN alliance due to incompatibility.
Interestingly, a comment by Joe Frazer suggested the opposite for Umno, calling for Umno to totally withdraw from politics to cause the collapse of the unity government and let the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition take over.
“If there is no cure for Umno, it can withdraw. Let the unity government fall and Malaysia will be governed by PN,” he wrote.
Last Saturday, Umno, the sole party representing Barisan Nasional (BN), suffered its biggest defeat in the six state elections after it won only 19 of the 108 state seats it contested in the polls.
The party also lost its traditional Malay voter base, being defeated in both Terengganu and Kedah without a single win after being taken over by rivals PN.
This is despite the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-BN alliance securing Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.
In Selangor, the PH-BN alliance was denied a two-thirds majority by PN and managed to only win a simple majority to form the state government.
