Umno graft worsens, faces political doom

Politics | Malaysia ex-leader Mahathir paints bleak portrait for ruling party over corruption negligence | Seattle Times Newspaper

Former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad warned Thursday that the ruling party faces political doom due to its decision to let off the prime minister’s son-in-law despite finding him guilty of breaching party ethics.

Mahathir said the United Malays National Organization party would either suffer a split among disgruntled members or lose Malaysia’s next general elections if the public believes the party is incurably plagued by graft.

The party was rocked Tuesday by an internal probe that found about a dozen officials, including one top leader, guilty of vote-buying ahead of elections next week for office-bearers.

Some members grumbled that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin, who is competing to become the youth wing leader, was let off with a warning even though he too was found guilty of breaching party election rules.

Mahathir said the credibility of the party’s disciplinary board “was subverted, undermined because of this very peculiar decision.”

Asked if this could lead to divisions in the party, Mahathir said UMNO faces “a choice between being rejected by the people (or) facing a split in the party.”

“If UMNO is not willing to take drastic action to show that it is serious about getting rid of corruption, then they will be rejected in the (next general) elections. The choice is theirs,” he said. “We can see a lot of disenchantment with UMNO manifested in many ways.”

Mahathir was speaking at a news conference flanked by Foreign Minister Rais Yatim to announce a campaign aimed at drawing more help for the Palestinians.

Asked if he agreed with Mahathir’s assessment, Rais said: “It could end up there. … At any rate, the possibility is there.”

UMNO is the linchpin of the National Front governing coalition, which suffered its worst electoral results in 51 years of uninterrupted rule during national polls last March.

The opposition seized one-third of the seats in Parliament and took control of five of Malaysia’s 13 states amid mounting public complaints about how the government has tackled challenges such as corruption, rising prices and racial and religious disputes.

Members say graft in UMNO has worsened in the past two decades, especially during elections for party posts. Some candidates allegedly pay huge sums to voters in exchange for endorsements.

Read:

Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Zaid Ibrahim urges King to appoint some who is beyond reproach to be PM, not Najib

Umno corrupt: survey

Najib’s stimulus package comes too late, fails to impress market

MACC closes in on …. Azalina

Badawi And Najib’s Silence On Umno Youth Thuggery In Parliament Highlight Umno’s Lack Of Credible Leadership

The likes of Umno Youth thugs turning Malaysia into a banana republic

Umno duo want full investigation into Umno graft allegations including Badawi and Najib

Umno-Led Barisan Nasional On The Way DownWith The New Crop Of Uninspiring Leadership

 

The Unethics Of Umno – The Utter Hypocrisy Of Umno

Malaysia going to the dogs with our ethical levels does not improve

Umno’s ‘defence’ of Perak Sultan raises suspicion

Malaysians disgusted with Barisan Nasional power grab in Perak

Barisan Nasional’s NEP retards national unity, investment and economic efficiency

Only 41% think Najib will be a good prime minister

50 Umno members protest against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s arrest of party members

Najib, ill-placed to change UMNO, a party that lives on patronage and claims to represent the core interests of majority Malay community

Umno’s humiliation at Kuala Terengganu, the beginning of the end

Umno party-ful of carpet-baggers and ne’er-do-wells still clueless to Malaysian’s rejection

Corrupt, callous and incompetent Barisan Nasional becoming more irrelevant in the new Malaysia political landscape

Barisan Nasional’s pork-barrel politics fail to win Kuala Terengganu

Umno politicians polarizing society to score political mileage

Zaid urges Malays to be wary of leaders who use the name of Malays for political mileage

Dr. Mahathir disgusted that Umno cannot control racism, says Ahmad Ismail should face disciplinary committee

Barisan Nasional government has done poorly in fulfilling Malaysia’s Independence proclamation

Umno – money politics reach worrying levels

Umno conservatives stalling reforms

Umno hegemony is under threat, Malays are not under threat

Umno is a nest of conspirators

Umno lacks intellectual capability, courage, energy to lead

Umno on the way down

Umno rife with corruption

Umno’s formula – turn everything racial

Umno’s day is over until it learns to respect Malaysian people with more dignity

Barisan’s Permatang Pauh loss was due to swearing by Saiful and Najib

Barisan’s ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Badawi faces calls to quit after Najib’s botched and ugly campaign in Permatang Pauh

Najib flees from angry crowd at Permatang Pauh

‹ Malaysians (including Dr Mahathir) have no confidence in Umno leaders

Malaysia acts to silence opposition publications ›

Posted in jijik, kosong, umno