UMNO being led by weak Ahmad Zahid - Analyst

KUALA LUMPUR: The action of several UMNO leaders to leave the party previously proves the leadership weakness of its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said Universiti Malaya’s Department of Administrative and Political Studies Department lecturer, Dr Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub.

He stressed that it was actually a signal from the leaders that the party should be avoided of a 'heart attack' as happened in the 14th General Election (GE14).

"I am confident that Umno members have quite different views from other politicians because they believe UMNO could be a forum for the Malays.

"But when the party is ruled by a weak president, and I am sure this is the first time in the history of UMNO, a president who will not be prime minister.

"In GE14, the party was warned of a 'heart attack' that almost killed UMNO and now the recovery process is underway.

"But we do not want a second heart attack that will continue to cripple UMNO. So, immediate changes need to be made to UMNO.

"We have to be open-minded and the president too has to be open-minded to see that the survival of UMNO is more important than the survival of its leaders," he said during a Skype conference on Sunday.

Earlier, the secretary of the Council of Former Malaysian People’s Representatives (Mubarak), Datuk Abdul Rahman Ibrahim, said the political crisis in UMNO needs to be resolved wisely.

He stressed that UMNO needs to be reshuffled, including the post of the president, besides promoting leaders who are not only accepted by members but also the people.

Meanwhile, Dr Mohammad Tawfik said the people are tired of the country's political situation apart from needing a leader who serves the party.

He explained that the quarrel of leaders in UMNO will only give a bad image to the party, the people and the government that is governing the country today.