(Johor Bahru, 28th) The Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY) National Executive Council criticized Johor UMNO leaders for being ungrateful and backstabbing, and called that if Johor UMNO insists on fighting the next general election on its own, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar should immediately dissolve Parliament, so that the national general election can be held concurrently with Johor and other state elections.
DAPSY pointed out that Johor UMNO often speaks about education and gratitude, but may we ask, during the previous general election when UMNO suffered its most crushing defeat in history, who helped them resist Perikatan Nasional’s onslaught, preventing UMNO’s constituencies from collapsing completely?
“After the 2023 state elections, who put aside old grudges and graciously accepted UMNO’s entry into the Selangor and Penang state governments, which had been ruled by Pakatan Harapan since 2008? Pakatan Harapan even gave up safe seats in several states to ensure UMNO’s victory, and fully supported UMNO candidates to be Menteri Besar in Perak and Pahang to safeguard government stability.”
DAPSY emphasized that during the 2023 state elections, the seat negotiations and cooperation between Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, on the basis of running one-on-one contests, allowed UMNO to still maintain its position in the nation’s political arena.
DAPSY criticized that now, some UMNO leaders are behaving like traitors biting the hand that feeds them. In a time when the global economy is full of challenges, these people are not only trying to destabilize the Negeri Sembilan state government, but are even clamoring for an all-out fight in Johor, actions that are no different from Perikatan Nasional.
In their Thursday statement, DAPSY plainly said that these people seem to have forgotten their own “coffins” are still placed in the unity government’s Cabinet. In fact, the number of ministers and deputy ministers allocated to UMNO is among the highest of all parties in government.
Ironically, UMNO Supreme Council member Lokman Adam has openly admitted that UMNO has no chance of winning if it fights alone, and advised the party to continue to maintain the cooperation model of the unity government.
DAPSY also cited research estimates by the NGO Tindak Malaysia, saying that if the 2022 Johor state election and parliamentary election had been held concurrently, Pakatan Harapan would have been able to secure 29 state seats and form the Johor government on its own. DAPSY mocked that perhaps the UMNO Youth Chief could not understand such simple political reality and data.
DAPSY reiterated that the formation of the unity government was built on the mandate of stability and cooperation from the people. If any party insists on backstabbing and shows contempt for the spirit of the unity government, DAPSY urges the Prime Minister to decisively dissolve Parliament, so that the Parliamentary and Johor as well as other state elections can be held concurrently, giving the decision entirely back to the voters.