Flag Row Threatens To Split Unity Within Umno As Much As Widening Rift Between Umno And Dap

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AS rightist UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh challenged Melaka DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) to write in to UMNO Malaysia to severe ties with him, UMNO feud is brewing with the seemingly emergence of the opposition-slant pro-Akmal faction and that of the moderate UMDAP faction.

Recall that over the weekend, the firebrand Merlimau state assemblyman has dared UMNO supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam to face off either in court or in the ring following allegations that the former is secretly plotting to promote Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as Prime Minister (PM).
The dispute erupted after Lokman publicly referred to Akmal as “H20 Youth chief” during an interview with a news portal, implying allegiance to Hishammuddin who is commonly associated with the “H2O” moniker.
In response, Akmal through a Facebook video (presumably has been deleted) on Saturday (Aug 23) gave Lokman who is also the UMNO information director “two options” – (i) to either battle out in court with him suing Lokman or (ii) to fight it out inside the ring”.
Lokman, however, fired back by criticising Akmal’s conduct as unbecoming of a senior party figure, accusing him of behaving like a “street thug” by inviting a physical altercation.
Internal squabbles deepening?
“He wants to take me to court? No problem. But not everyone behaves as childishly as Muhamad Akmal,” rebuked Lokman on his Facebook video. “He seems to forget he holds a position equivalent to UMNO vice-president yet he’s acting like a roadside gangster.”

Lokman further claimed that Akmal was using his physical advantage – being younger, taller and stronger – to intimidate an older man (Lokman is 52 while Akmal is 37).
This led to the Melaka state EXCO for Rural Development, Agriculture and Food Security ticked off Lokman as having confused his personality with his attitude.
“My personality is who I’m. My attitude depends on who you’re,” rebutted the Russian-trained medical doctor in a Facebook post while belittling Lokman with his derogatory moniker “Lobakman”.

“You chattily condemned others but when invited into the ring to square off in a manly manner, you become a coward. Not only that but you accused others of being a samseng (thug) … Little wonder people say that his brain is on his knee),”
Taking the matter a step further, Lokman who has been at odds with Akmal with his view that the latter is better off becoming an opposition spokesman had even jibed DAP and MCA of having walked straight into Akmal’s trap by turning him into a hero as evident from the KK Super Mart sock-gate saga to the recent Jalur Gemilang gaffe.

Like it or not, Lokman’s pro-party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi narrative which emphasises on not rocking the Madani ship albeit the UMNO’s “No Anwar. No DAP. No Bersatu” pre-GE15 (15th General Election) stance may not resonate with the desire of the party’s grassroots.
This has certainly emboldened UMNO Youth to grow its fangs with no second thought of crossing party lines – if need be – to champion sensitive issues at the expense of racial/religious harmony.
As it is, patching up the internal rift between UMNO’s ‘old school’ leaders and that of its millennium generation leaders as represented by UMNO Youth is no easy task considering the party’s reliance on Akmal & Co to rally support at grassroots level.
A case in point is how the Federal Territories (FT) UMNO Youth staunchly backed Akmal in his war of words with Lokman.
“This party needs a communications director who is mature, wise and capable of bringing a positive narrative that can lift UMNO’s image, not an individual who plunges the party into embarrassing internal polemics,” penned the movement’s FT chief Datuk Aliff Firdaus Abd Hadi in a statement.

“At the same time, the FT UMNO Youth also took note of the statements of several DAPSY leaders who urged their party to sever ties with Datuk Dr Akmal Saleh.
“We welcome this matter because the FT UMNO Youth has never intended to work with young people like DAPSY who are only keen to defend those who commit wrongdoings.” –  Focus Malaysia

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