Have UMNO leaders learnt the right lessons from UMNO’s electoral disaster in the 14th General Election?

Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has joined his rival Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi in “whistling in the dark”, expecting UMNO to be back in power before the 15th General Election by 2023.

Four days ago, Zahid said he expects an implosion of the Pakatan Harapan coalition and the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government in Putrajaya before the 15th General Election.

Both Zahid and Razaleigh are entitled to their fantasies although both should realise that the Pakatan Harapan coalition parties are committed to make the Pakatan Harapan government a success not only at the national level, but also in the states where the Pakatan Harapan is the government - not just for one term, but in the subsequent general elections as well.

To do this, Pakatan Harapan component parties must fulfill the high hopes of Malaysians for national renewal to fulfill Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman’s Malaysian Dream for the nation to be a “beacon of hope in a disturbed and distracted world” and cease to be the laughing-stock of the world by becoming a kakistocracy and global kleptocracy!

Is Malaysia capable of turning outwards to compete with the rest of the world to become a world-class nation in one field of human endeavour after another by leveraging on the strength and assets of our diversities of race, religion, language and culture or will Malaysia hurtle down the trajectory of a failed and rogue state, turning inwards to cannibalise the nation with the irresponsible and dangerous politics of race, religion, hate, fear and lies?

The more immediate question is whether UMNO leaders have learnt the right lessons from UMNO’s electoral disaster in the 14th General Election?

Now, UMNO has 52 Members of Parliament, representing 23.4% of the 222-member Parliament, a far cry from UMNO’s zenith of political power when it had over 50 per cent representation of MPs in Parliament.

But this sorry state of affairs is not just confined to UMNO, as MCA fell from its height of having 26 per cent of Members of Parliament in 1964GE to 3.1% of the Malaysian parliamentary seats in 2013GE and the present 0.45% of Malaysian parliamentary seats in 2018GE; while Gerakan fell from its heyday when it won 5.5% of the parliamentary seats in 1969GE to 0.45% of parliamentary seats in the 2012 GE and zero parliamentary representation in the 2018GE.

Have UMNO, MCA, Gerakan and other BN component parties learnt the lessons from their electoral disaster in the 14GE?

This does not seem to be the case from the speeches and statements from leaders of UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other former BN component parties.

UMNO’s Tengku Razaleigh has said that UMNO must ask the rakyat for forgiveness for all its past mistakes if it is to rise again.

He said Umno should apologise to all Malaysians for neglecting its duties and responsibilities as the people had entrusted their faith in the party.

His rival for the UMNO Presidential post, Khairy Jamaluddin agrees with Razaleigh and said that UMNO must first admit its mistakes and explain things to the grassroots before apologising to them for its defeat in the 14th general election.

But no UMNO leaders seem ready to admit as to what are real mistakes causing UMNO/BN’s electoral disaster in the 14GE, as reflected by Razaleigh’s statement that 'Umno's standing unaffected by Najib-linked RM1.1b haul' and that the police seizure making Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor world news had nothing to do with Umno.

Would Malaysians or the 3.6 million UMNO members agree that the police seizure of RM1.1 billion of items, inclusive of cash, watches, handbags and jewellery at Pavilion Residences linked to Najib had nothing to do with UMNO?

Have UMNO, MCA, Gerakan, MIC and other BN component parties learnt the other important lessons of the 14GE?