KUALA LUMPUR: Umno could neither be revitalised nor clean its graft-tainted image following the approval to reserve its top two posts from being contested in the party polls, a DAP leader said.
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy said such was the case since Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi appeared to be the most tainted leader in the party.
"The recent decision in the Umno assembly not to call for contests against the president and deputy president might have had unanimous support. However, there were voices who wanted the contest.
"Unfortunately, Zahid appears to be the most tainted leader in Umno. Umno cannot be revitalised without the need to clean up its corruption-tainted image.
"Zahid might have emerged unscathed temporarily, but he seems to be the 'altraboss' around the neck of Umno and to some extent, Pakatan Harapan or the unity government," he said in a statement, today.
Yesterday, the 2022 Umno General Assembly approved the motion for the post of party president and deputy president to remain unchallenged in the upcoming party election.
Its president, Zahid, at the same time said Umno leaders who went against the approved motion of 'no-contest' for the top two party positions, may face disciplinary action.
Following this, he cited Article 8 of the party constitution that the Umno General Assembly is the highest authority in the party.
Meanwhile, Ramasamy said Umno had lost the majority support of Malay voters due to several corruption charges against Zahid.
"It is too well-known that the corruption charges against Zahid were the reason why Umno lost badly in the 15th General Election (GE15), despite doing well in the earlier state elections in Melaka and Johor.
"If Umno, the dominant partner of Barisan Nasional had been a strong party, it would have won the majority of parliamentary seats in GE15.
"However, it fared poorly compared to its rivals, Bersatu and Pas in Perikatan Nasional (PN). If Umno had joined PN in forming the government, the party would have been swallowed by the extremist forces in the PN," he said.
Ramasamy, however, added that the unity government may have avoided an immediate political crisis with the approved motion.
"A reasonably strong Umno is a plus point for Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the unity government.
"Whether Umno can shore up Malay support for PH in the coming state elections remains to be seen. However, it is better to have Umno on the side of PH rather than not have it at all," he said.