‘It’s an era of do or die for Umno’

New Straits Times

Question: What do you think of (former Umno president and prime minister) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s proposal that Selangor Umno should be revamped?Answer: I feel we do not need to react to that negatively. He is a senior statesman and wise in these matters.      It was constructive criticism. If it was not, then why would the prime minister say the same thing later? He said it looked as if there had been no change. It’s a fact.

What can Selangor Umno do about it? We cannot ignore Selangor as it is the most developed and (economically) important state. If we do, we will let the opposition take over again and they will reign and do whatever they like.

Question: Is there a special task force to oversee Umno’s development in Selangor?Answer: There is a body, led by (Selangor Umno chief) Datuk Seri Noh Omar, through the Selangor Federal Action Council, which handles matters related to state development. From the political aspect, we have the state Umno liaison committee. But the question is whether the liaison committee is effective and whether it has been revamped. Are there programmes or initiatives in place? I have not seen these in detail. Maybe there are, maybe there aren’t, but judging from our current situation, we need to look at the matter comprehensively.

Question: You talk about attracting young voters for the next general election. We know the opposition has been aggressive in registering new voters. What about new members in Umno?Answer: It’s being done at every division. It is a standing instruction to increase the voter bank. Compared with other component parties in BN, Umno is the most active in this.

We must enhance this effort among Umno members, who are not registered as voters themselves. Based on previous figures, there are almost half a million (about 460,000 Umno members) of them.

This list has been cleaned up and we need to keep it because these potential voters come from the branches and grassroots.

The divisions have to take the effort. There are youths in the schooling system now and we know in three years’ time, they will turn 21. We need to take all this into account — the number of young voters in the future. We must organise programmes that could attract them to join Umno.

If we merely register them but they end up supporting the other side (opposition), then it is of no use.

Question: Do you have any figures of the new Umno members?Answer: Every month, during the supreme council meeting, I have to table the figures. The supreme council will hear how many new members have been registered within a period of every few months. For instance, we may have registered up to 8,000 new members at a time. The data is there. We just need to be consistent.

Question: What changes do you hope to see in Umno?Answer: There should be a change in mindset. We need to realise that we are in a very dangerous and challenging situation. I had mentioned in an interview with Utusan Malaysia a few years ago that we are at the peak but we are staring at a ravine in front of us. If we are not careful, we could slip and fall.

We have suffered losses in the previous general election, but God gave us time to reflect upon ourselves and made us understand that the future would be the most trying of times.

Many people out there are worried about Umno. They say if Umno continues this way, it will lose. The struggles will be short-lived. We can no longer carry out our party’s efforts.

Look at what is happening in Selangor. How they suffered and how hard it is. Malays are seen as trash in Penang. But before it gets to that level (nationwide), we have to put concentrated efforts in the next three years.

If not, we will be responsible for bringing disaster upon Umno, simply because of our apathy. I do not want the future generation to say that it is this leadership that caused Umno to be defeated and lose power. It will be an embarrassment for us. The Malays must realise that Umno is the only party that will fight for their struggles. These are tough times but there is still hope if the Malays unite and support Umno.

Question: That ‘do or die’ for Umno is a serious warning but change is slow. What are the problems actually?Answer: Our mindset. It will be unfair to say that Umno members don’t think but there needs to be a new awareness about the party not being in its best era. Yes, it is the era of do or die for us.

If there is an election tomorrow, can we win? With the things that happened in Selangor involving (Menteri Besar) Azmin (Ali) and (Azmin’s predecessor Tan Sri Abdul) Khalid (Ibrahim), there were people who suggested for the state legislative assembly to be dissolved. I asked Selangor (Umno) if that occurred, could Umno win?

None of them could answer yes. That’s an example at the state level. So, what’s the point? In three years’ time, it will be the next general election and the five-year term will be complete. It will be no use for me to ask such questions later to Selangor.

But, now, it may seem late but it is better to be late than never, right?

That is why the prime minister and I have said we would commit our time more to politics and party matters. So, don’t call me to cut the ribbons at events, to launch this or that. This goes for ministers as well. Some insist that the PM’s and DPM’s presence at such events is a must. It is not that we do not want to attend such events but it takes a lot of time. It takes two to three hours to attend an event when I can get a lot of work done by meeting the rakyat to settle their woes. That gives more mileage than sitting in a meeting. Our time is precious.

Question: In your opinion, if there is a general election tomorrow, next week or month, can BN win?Answer: To me… (we are) not ready. If there is a general election tomorrow, I am not sure about our position. But there isn’t a general election and so there is time to improve our shortcomings but we must not wait till the end to think about this. In these three years, do what you have to.