PETALING JAYA: The expulsion of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak from Umno may be the only step to save the party from extinction although even this step may be too late, Lim Kit Siang said today.
The DAP adviser said this in response to Najib claiming that the party leadership was not entirely to be blamed for the exodus of MPs from Umno and that it was a “natural cleansing”.
Lim said Najib is shedding crocodile’s tears as the former president of the once-dominant party he had single-handedly destroyed.
Umno has 10 MPs since Thursday, leaving it with only 38 elected representatives in the Dewan Rakyat.
It is now the third biggest party in the Dewan Rakyat, after PKR and DAP.
Larut MP Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin claimed that 36 BN MPs including 33 from Umno had only a month ago signed letters of support for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and that its president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi was kept completely in the dark.
“It portends two possibilities,“ Lim said in a statement.
“Firstly, that as many as another 20 Umno MPs are set on leaving Umno, resulting in Umno, which at one time claimed the divine right to rule the country, to the regional status of PAS in having less than 20 MPs.
“Secondly, Zahid Hamidi’s tenure as Umno president is likely to be the shortest in the party’s history.”
Lim said the Anti-ICERD rally of PAS and Umno in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 8 had acted as a catalyst for the implosion in Umno, losing 10 Members of Parliament after the rally.
“What former Umno Minister and Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Mustapha Mohamed said on Sept 18 when quitting the party bears remembering,“ the DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri said.
“Mustapha said Umno had not made any efforts to rejuvenate itself. He said to be relevant in a dynamic national political scenario today, Umno as the backbone of Barisan Nasional, cannot depend on the sole support of the Malays and bumiputras.”
Mustapha said his political principle is that Umno should be inclusive, moderate and a party that takes the middle path.
“Umno must continue to fight for the rights of bumiputras and Islam, but should never sideline the importance of other races and religions,“ he said. “I believe this is the best way in a multiracial country like Malaysia.”
