Nearly 80% members deny Umno in Sabah

THE Sabah state election exposed a wide disconnect between the number of Umno members and the votes the party actually received at the polls, says secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.

Asyraf said Umno entered the Sabah polls confident given that it had more than 622,637 members in the state, but ended up securing only 144,584 votes from them.

That comes up to just over 23%.

“We often celebrate the increase in party membership as a sign of strength. But the reality we must accept is that membership figures do not necessarily translate into electoral victory.

“The lesson is clear: our members are not necessarily our voters,” he told delegates at the Umno general assembly today.

Umno was dealt with major losses in the 17th Sabah state election when it won just four seats, while its Barisan Nasional ally, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, snagged one.

It lost several long-held seats, with heavyweights like former chief minister Salleh Said Keruak, deputy foreign minister Mohamad Alamin and Sabah Umno information chief Suhaimi Nasir being defeated.

Asyraf said Sabah Umno had been dealt with three major waves of defections that consistently weakened the party, starting with the formation of Warisan by former Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal in 2016.

That was followed by the defection of leaders to Bersatu in 2018, and then again in 2023 when several migrated to ruling coalition Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

“Each wave eroded Umno’s strength, severing the lifelines of Sabah Umno’s struggle one by one,” he said.

Asyraf said this declining trend was not confined to Sabah, adding that similar patterns had repeated themselves in the last three general elections.

Looking ahead to upcoming state elections and the next general election, he said the party must confront some hard questions.

“As we approach the Melaka and Johor state elections and subsequently GE16, we must honestly ask: is the addition of 46,655 members this year, bringing the total to 3.525 million Umno members, enough to guarantee victory?”

 

Hampir 80% ahli di Sabah tak undi Umno

PILIHANRAYA negeri Sabah baru-baru ini mendedahkan betapa ahli Umno negeri itu tidak mengundi parti sendiri, kata setiausaha agung, Datuk Wira Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Katanya, Umno ke Sabah dengan keyakinan agar 622,637 ahlinya di negeri itu mengundinya, tetapi malangnya hanya 144,584 berbuat demikian. Ia merangkumi hanya 23 peratus daripada keseluruhan ahli Umno negeri itu.
“Kita sering berbangga dengan pertambahan ahli sebagai tanpa pemerkasaan parti tetapi hakikatnya jumlah ahli yang ramai tidak semestinya menjamin kemenangan kita.
“Pengajarannya amat jelas – ahli tak semestinya pengundi kita,” katanya di Perhimpunan Agung Umno, di Kuala Lumpur, hari ini.

Umno tewas teruk di PRN ke-17 Sabah apabila hanya memenangi 4 kerusi manakala komponennya dalam Barisan Nasional, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah menang satu kerusi.

Malah, penyandangnya lamanya seperti Salleh Said Keruah, Mohamad Alamin dan Suhaimi Nasir turut kecundang di kawasan masing-masing.

Asyraf berkata Umno Sabah turut mengalami tiga arus pembelotan yang melemahkannya, bermula dengan penubuhan parti Warisan oleh bekas naib presidennya, Shafie Apdal pada tahun 2016.

Ini diikuti pembelotan beberapa pemimpinnya ke Bersatu pada 2018, dan sekali lagi pada 2023 apabila sebahagian lain melompat ke Gabungan Rakyat Sabah.

 

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