KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 — A fresh-faced Umno presidential hopeful said he felt that Umno leaders, especially those under former president Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had chosen to line the pockets of its members, but failed to win their hearts.

Entrepreneur and Umno blogger Rahmat Azim Abdul Aziz said that this was why many have chosen to jump ship to Pakatan Harapan (PH) instead, as their loyalty no longer has any monetary value.

“It’s a well-known fact. People join Umno owing to political connections, contracts. There is no loyalty to the party,” Rahmat, also known by his online moniker “Mat Umno”, told Malay Mail in an interview.

“The first week after the polls, what happened in Umno? Crying, blaming this, blaming that… bullshit!” he exclaimed.

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“All this time, Umno had been feeding, feeding, feeding, feeding, ensuring that these people are not bright enough to think for themselves,” said the Kota Raja Umno member.

In response, Rahmat said he has already begun strategising to rebuild the party and had even started tweeting to Umno leaders to join his efforts, only to be left disappointed.

“At the moment, for the past how many years, Umno has forgotten their struggle.

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“They are not fighting for the people. Everybody is fighting for their own pocket. Don’t you see that?” he asked.

Last week, Malay Mail reported that Rahmat had thrown his hat into the presidential contest ring, but it is unclear if his application form will even be accepted.

But if it is, Rahmat claimed he has worked out a plan to tackle money politics and corruption in the party.

His plan? Party members who wish to hold government posts, if Umno returns to power one day, should relinquish their party posts, and become just normal members.

“Why? Because I believe in the separation of powers. If you become the president of a party, take care of the party. Do not become a prime minister. You can appoint your deputy to become the prime minister.

“Let’s say the president becomes the prime minster as per tradition, who is going to take care of the party? He has to take care of the country.

“So if you have the president and deputy president becoming prime minister and deputy prime minister, who’s taking care of the party?” Rahmat asked.

Rahmat said that such a concept would prevent party members from seeking favours, as those in the government would not have political influence or power to within the party.

This, he said, would therefore prevent them from being pressured to bend to the will of party members, and allow them to protect their interests and position in Umno.

“At the moment, what you have in Umno are all idiots. Those people in Umno have been in Umno for too long. They have lost their way,” he said.

“Thinking about their bread and butter issues, they are not thinking about the party. They just want to maintain their power and are full of themselves.

“That’s why everybody thought Umno was still going to win, but by 10pm that night, I knew it was not,” he added, relating to the night of May 9 when Pakatan Harapan dealt Barisan Nasional with its first electoral defeat in over 60 years.