PETALING JAYA,Feb 15: Veteran politician Daim Zainuddin has denounced Umno as a party out of touch with political realities and led by people who are self-serving and delusional.
In an interview with FMT, he said the party had lost its appeal with the common people because it had failed to offer anything new or of substance.
“It has not shown it has learnt from history and its leaders still act as if they are in charge as warlords of the country,” he said.
“I think the rakyat is mature enough to see through these types of leaders, that their agenda is merely self-preservation.
“I do not believe that Umno, as a party, presently has any appeal for most people.”
Daim was Umno treasurer when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was its president in the 90s.
He was asked to comment on attempts by a group of Umno leaders to engineer the fall of Perikatan Nasional (PN) after helping it form the government with PAS and breakaway factions of PPBM and PKR.
Noting that the party was now embroiled in a fight with PPBM and PAS for the Malay ground, he said Umno seemed to be thinking it was the strongest.
“It thinks it is the strongest political party in the country at the moment. But what is this view based on? It is nothing more than posturing, and posturing among its so-called allies.”
He said Umno appeared to be confident that it could win a general election if one was called now. “Maybe it will do better than in the last general election, but can it win enough seats on its own to form a government? I don’t believe so.”
He spoke of disunity in Umno, saying the different factions had different reasons for wanting to leave PN and force a general election.
“These reasons have nothing to do with the welfare of the country,” he said. “If you read the opinions, comments and statements that are coming out, most would conclude that all are based on individual leaders’ personal agendas.
“There are many Umno ministers within the PN government now. How are they performing? They should use their appointments to prove themselves and work for the country and the people.”
