Umno Youth chief Akmal Saleh has hinted that it might be time for him to step aside.
He made the suggestion after doing his utmost to voice grassroots concerns.
Cryptic Social Media Post
In a post on social media on Wednesday morning (Jan 7), Akmal Saleh said he had conveyed the party’s grassroots message as clearly as possible.
“Perhaps the shortcomings lie within myself,” he wrote.
“Perhaps the time has come for me to step aside.”
He expressed thanks for supporters’ voices in the struggle.
Akmal Saleh added that sincere intentions for religion, race, and nation would prevail, God willing.
Thanks to Party President
The previous day (Jan 6), the Merlimau assemblyman thanked Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He appreciated Zahid’s willingness to review motions from the special Umno Youth Convention on Saturday (Jan 3).
Akmal Saleh said the party should start by exploring cooperation between Umno and PAS, the two largest Malay-based parties, to foster Malay unity.
He called this the right moment for such efforts.
“Thank you, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, for agreeing to several motions from the recent special Umno Youth Convention,” he stated.
“First, efforts towards Malay unity should begin with cooperation between Umno and PAS. Second, to reject any proposal to engineer a so-called ‘tebuk atap’ (backdoor) government.”
Research Firm’s Disclaimer
Ilham Centre, an independent research firm, has distanced itself from findings presented by one of its researchers at the convention.
The study, based on 800 Umno respondents, allegedly showed 62% cannot accept the Umno-DAP working relationship in government.
