00:01Can UMNO ever be trusted again? That's the question Tajuddin Razdi is asking
00:06after the Negri Simbilan political crisis reopened old wounds for many
00:10Pakatan Harpan supporters. For Tajuddin, his relationship with UMNO has always
00:15been complicated. As a Malay Muslim, he once admired the party. In the 1980s and
00:201990s, UMNO represented the promise of the new economic policy. Its leaders were
00:26his heroes. On Jafar, Dr. Mahathir Muhammad, Anwar Ibrahim. But
00:31everything changed in 1998 when Mahathir sacked and humiliated Anwar. Tajuddin
00:37says his admiration turned into resentment. For nearly three
00:42decades, the word UMNO became associated with betrayal. Then came
00:472022. UMNO suffered its worst electoral defeat in history. But because no
00:53coalition won a simple majority, UMNO found itself back in power. This
00:57time as part of the unity government with PH. For many PH supporters, this was
01:03not easy to accept. But Tajuddin says the logic was simple. UMNO was the
01:08lesser of two evils. On one side, a party with a long record of scandals and
01:13betrayal. On the other, Pericata Nacional, a coalition pushing racial and
01:18religious narratives. For Tajuddin, supporting UMNO was not about forgetting
01:22the past. It was about preventing something worse. And for a while, he
01:27hoped UMNO might change. Maybe it to defeat would humble the party. Maybe working
01:31with PH would force reform. Maybe this was a second chance. But then came the
01:38Negri Simbilan crisis. Fourteen UMNO assemblymen retracted support for a
01:43elementary bussa from PKR. And suddenly, the old question returned. Was this just a
01:48group of rogue assemblymen? Or was it part of a bigger UMNO scheme? UMNO
01:54president Ahmad Zayed Hamadi has since backed the unity government in Negri Simbilan.
01:58And Tajuddin says he is willing to give UMNO one final chance. But the damage is
02:03done. The crisis has reopened an old wound. Because for many PH supporters, UMNO's
02:09problem is no longer just its past. It is whether the party can be trusted in the
02:14future. Will UMNO remain a reliable ally in the next general election? Or will it
02:19wait for the right moment to turn on PH? Tajuddin's conclusion is clear. Many may
02:25have forgiven UMNO. But after Negri Simbilan, they are unlikely to forget. For the
02:31full opinion piece, read NS Crisis Reopens Old Wounds UMNO Inflicted in the Past by Tajuddin
02:36Rosity on FMT.
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