‘Public will reject party with dishonest leaders’

(The Rakyat Post) – Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said trust was the most important value for Umno leaders to ensure the public’s faith in the party remains.

In his message to commemorate the party’s 69th anniversary, the Umno deputy president said he was confident the public would give its full support to the party if its leaders could prove they were responsible in carrying out their duties

Leaders, he said, needed to be free from any misconduct and fraud.

“On the other hand, if a leader is dishonest, the public will reject our party. The survival of Umno depends on whether the people perceive the party as an honest one.

“We need to constantly assess ourselves, improve weaknesses and rectify the situation before it is too late.

“The public is watching our actions and stand on several main issues,” he said in the statement posted on his Facebook page today.

Muhyiddin also admitted that the party was not as strong as before, especially after they failed to maintain a two-thirds majority in the 12th and 13th general elections.

Umno, he added, also had to deal with a grave “perception problem”.

Muhyiddin said he was concerned that unanswered issues surrounding Umno would eventually lead to the people rejecting the party and the leaders would have to step down.

“Umno need to provide answers immediately to all problems faced by the people. This includes on the increasing of cost of living.

“I believe more can be done to overcome the cost of living problem and Umno needs to champion this.”

Transparency and good governance, according to Muhyiddin, were also the values that would determine whether or not Malaysians would vote for the party as it is a priority for the people in making political choices.