SHAH ALAM, Nov 13 — Umno must ensure it will withdraw from the government in a gentlemanly manner if it loses in the next general elections, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said today. The PAS president said Umno should learn to accept losses in an open-minded manner, and not resort to underhanded tactics to win, like what happened in Perak last year.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) won Perak in the 2008 general elections, but Barisan Nasional (BN) wrested the state from the opposition after several PR assemblymen left the party to become BN-friendly independents.
“I urge Umno to step away in a gentlemanly fashion if they lose. Just admit defeat, do not try to wiggle your way into a victory like in Perak. If you have lost, it means you have lost, it’s the same with Orang Asli votes..
“We know Umno has problems but they are still trying to cover it up, eventually everyone will see their problems,” Abdul Hadi told reporters after launching a “PAS is ready to take over Umno” program here.
Abdul Hadi (picture), who is Marang MP called on PAS members to fortify the party’s machinery in the event of possible snap polls.
“We have to strategise, we have to win on our own merits, not because of our opponents. Fighting with Umno is like fighting with madmen, there are no laws. So if we want to fight them we have to have our own strategy, and it has to be done on a grassroots level,” said the PAS president.
He also stressed that PAS should also try and obtain support among Umno members as well as non-Malays, stressing that the Islamist party could not hope for an electoral win without the backing and support of all parties.
The one day program today was attended by 1,200 PAS members including Selangor state PAS leaders.
Abdul Hadi’s call for Umno to step down gracefully comes as Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak vowed that Umno will maintain its dominance and rule over Putrajaya “no matter what the cost.”
In his stirring yet controversial policy speech at the recent Umno general assembly, Najib called on Umno delegates to defend Umno and BN’s control over federal power, claiming that they were ever-ready to take on a weakened Pakatan Rakyat.
Najib’s policy speech, which drew heavily on Umno’s past successes as a blueprint for future triumph, appears to have stirred the country’s oldest Malay party, as BN recently scored two big victories in winning the Galas seat as well as the Batu Sapi parliamentary seat.
13/11/10
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