Stronger Umno for MALAYSIANS, says Najib: But has he asked Dr M?

WELL PREPARED- General assembly should portray a party which is firm, strong and has fighting spirit, says Najib

THE 2012 Umno general assembly is set to give a signal that the party is thoroughly prepared for the general election, has become stronger, more disciplined, solid and capable of assuring a better future for Malaysians under the Barisan Nasional.

Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the gathering of 5,447 party delegates should portray a party which was well prepared.

“Whether in terms of image, direction, unity, organisation or the grassroots, the assembly should portray a party which is already firm, strong and has fighting spirit to ensure a major victory for Umno and BN."

In an interview with editors of Bernama and Utusan Malaysia prior to the general assembly in the coming week, the prime minister stressed the importance of organisational discipline in ensuring the success of the party.

"If we have organisational discipline, I believe it will give us great strength, because we have the numbers which must be buttressed with the strength of party discipline.

"If we do not receive an order following the chain of command, it means we have gone against discipline, and as a consequence, we can lose in a war."

He said the debate must lead to a positive attitude in Umno on its direction and confidence in the leadership, and subsequently provide answers to accusations thrown by the opposition at the Umno and BN leaderships.

Taking Pas as an example of a party hiding behind an Islamic image, Najib said: "This must be discussed by Umno. If possible, we should come up with strong arguments so that we can emerge as the main party among the Malays."

Najib said Umno's situation was better compared to a year ago and was also better than the opposition pact.

He said the differences in directions and opinions among the opposition parties were becoming obvious, with the issue of who should be prime minister, views on freedom to change religion and opinions on practices not in line with Islam.

"Umno and BN have boosted confidence while the opposition parties have raised more questions and controversies which can be questioned by voters."

On his efforts to revive Umno after BN's poor performance in the 2008 general election, Najib said: "I hold on to the principle of getting up after falling down and continuing to work hard after being successful."

As such, he said when he took over the leadership of the party and government, he was committed to reviving Umno and BN, starting with the 1Malaysia concept of "People First, Performance Now" as a master philosophy of his administration.

He said his administration policies were inclusive, by upholding social justice and forwarding new ideas which were more creative.

"I understand that in the 21st century, supremacy can be obtained by parties which have great ideas.

"This is why many programmes which we implement today have never been thought of before, such as the 1Malaysia People's Shop, 1Malaysia Clinic, Urban Transformation Centre, Rural Transformation Centre, 1Malaysia People's Taxi, 1Malaysia People's Aid, etc."

-Bernama