Sabah Umno’s membership–vote gap suggests leadership crisis, say analysts

Free Malaysia Today

Analysts identify infighting and a failure to adapt to local political realities as other factors leading to losses at the recent state polls.   Read More:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/01/20/sabah-umnos-membership-vote-gap-suggests-leadership-crisis-say-analysts   Laporan Lanjut:  https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/01/20/jurang-undi-ahli-umno-sabah-dedah-krisis-kepimpinan-kata-penganalisis   Free Malaysia Today is an independent, bi-lingual news portal with a focus on Malaysian current affairs.    Subscribe to our channel - http://bit.ly/2Qo08ry   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Check us out at https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com  Follow FMT on Facebook: https://bit.ly/49JJoo5  Follow FMT on Dailymotion: https://bit.ly/2WGITHM  Follow FMT on X: https://bit.ly/48zARSW  Follow FMT on Instagram: https://bit.ly/48Cq76h  Follow FMT on TikTok : https://bit.ly/3uKuQFp  Follow FMT Berita on TikTok: https://bit.ly/48vpnQG  Follow FMT Telegram - https://bit.ly/42VyzMX  Follow FMT LinkedIn - https://bit.ly/42YytEb  Follow FMT Lifestyle on Instagram: https://bit.ly/42WrsUj  Follow FMT on WhatsApp: https://bit.ly/49GMbxW  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Download FMT News App:  Google Play – http://bit.ly/2YSuV46  App Store – https://apple.co/2HNH7gZ  Huawei AppGallery - https://bit.ly/2D2OpNP   #FMTNews

Transcript

00:00The stark mismatch between Sabah UMNO's membership figures and the votes it secured during last year's state polls

00:07has exposed a confidence crisis within the party's state leadership, say political analysts.

00:14Bill Chabala of University Malaysia's Sabah said,

00:17weak leadership and prolonged internal conflict within Sabah UMNO were key factors behind the erosion of support.

00:25He pointed to the 2023 Kinabalu move when UMNO withdrew support for the state government led by Haji Jinor

00:33as a turning point that exposed internal fractures and damaged the party's credibility.

00:40Bilcher added that UMNO's appeal had been further eroded by its diminished standing after the 15th general election,

00:47when Barisan Nacional became reliant on other parties to stay in power at the federal level.

00:53At UMNO's Annual General Assembly on Friday,

00:56Secretary-General Ashraf Wajdi Dusuki revealed that nearly 80% of the party's Sabah members did not vote for UMNO in the state election.

01:06Meanwhile, UMS's Lee Kwok-teung said the gap reflected a lack of loyalty to the party,

01:12pointing out also that multiple party memberships are common in Sabah.

01:16Both analysts said a leadership overhaul was necessary if Sabah UMNO hopes to stem the exodus,

01:24with Lee urging the party's leadership to be more attuned to Sabah-specific issues,

01:29while Bilcher called for a rebranding of UMNO's political narrative in the state.

01:34Mirato FMT.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended