00:00A political analyst says UMNO must return to its historically successful middle ground
00:08position to regain a firm foothold in Malaysian politics.
00:13Stressing the importance of moderation, University Malaysia Sarawak's Jeneri Amir said the
00:18party should avoid becoming too focused on ethnic interests.
00:23He said UMNO will not survive if it moves towards an overly Malay or Islam-centric agenda,
00:29postulating that such a strategy would, at best, only work in the short term.
00:35Jeneri was commenting after Wanita UMNO Chief Nuraini Ahmad said on Thursday that it was
00:41not necessary for the party to prove it is more Malay than Pas and Bersatu.
00:47Meanwhile, James Chin from the University of Tasmania questioned the need for the party
00:52to appeal to the non-Malay electorate.
00:55He said UMNO has never tried to canvass for Chinese votes, having always fought in rural
01:00areas where the Malays form the majority.
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