KUALA LUMPUR: Although it has been 20 months since the unity government was formed, Umno has yet to fully convince its grassroots to support the Madani government and regain Malay support, Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has admitted.

He attributed it to the failure of the Umno apparatus to utilise avenues like social media to reach out to party members on the ground to explain issues and sentiments raised in the Madani government.

The Deputy Prime Minister said this to selected media at an interview yesterday on preparations for the upcoming Umno general assembly, set to take place from Aug 21 to 24 at the party headquarters at World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.

Ahmad Zahid pointed out that although the working relationship in the Cabinet and top tiers of the Madani government is very strong among the 18 ruling parties, that strength has yet to be translated fully at the Umno grassroots.

He conceded that Umno has to do more to regain the votes of the Malays that it had lost in the last general election in November 2022.

In the 15th General Election, Umno, which contested under the Barisan Nasional banner, had its worst performance when it lost its core Malay votes, mainly to Perikatan Nasional, which had Malay/Muslim-based parties PAS and Bersatu.

Umno only won 27 parliamentary seats or 31% of the popular vote.

The trend continued into the six state elections in 2023 when Perikatan raked in most of the Malay votes, thrashing Umno in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

“I admit that the support of the Malays to Umno is still at a low level. I admit that the relaying of messages on issues of the people and sentiments has yet to be handled properly, be it at the party level or from the government itself.

“A new approach in communication is needed.

“In the Cabinet, we have seven experienced Umno ministers. To communicate issues, we have not been strong enough and we need to think and work outside the box to relay the important collective decisions to national and lower-ranking party leaders.

“This is what we need to work on so that there is a sense of belonging (to the Madani government) by Umno leaders on the ground,” said Ahmad Zahid.

He further said it will be pointless for a government to merely serve the people without handling the issues that crop up and addressing the sentiments raised by the people on the ground.

In recent months, Umno Youth leaders have sparred openly with DAP leaders over issues pertaining to race and religion, despite both parties being in the same government.

“Managing the issues and sentiments of the people is very important to regain their trust. Service is important but if we do not handle issues and sentiments of the people, it will not work.

“A drastic approach is needed in communicating this to the grassroots,” he added.

Ahmad Zahid said that although there have been differences in opinions between Umno and other ruling parties over issues, the top leaders of the ruling parties have always been on the same page.

“All political parties have differences. If a certain party gives a contradicting statement or viewpoint, those statements or viewpoints are voiced by the middle or lower-ranking party leaders, not the national leaders.

“This is why issues and sentiments of the people should be respected and addressed at all levels of the government, be it at the national or local council level.

“There should be more proactive measures to not allow these issues and sentiments to fester but to interpret them properly so as not to drown the collaboration between the parties in the Madani government,” he said.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/08/18/malay-support-is-still-low