UMNO assembly: Eyes of all parties will be focused on gathering

THE 2012 Umno general assembly will set the pace for all political parties ahead of the next general election.

Barisan Nasional component parties and the opposition will look to the assembly to gauge themselves and each other.

Unity and loyalty among party members will be two key elements that will weigh on the coalition partners and the opposition.

Political analyst Dr Arnold Puyok said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would use the assembly to drum up support from the Malays.

Puyok, a political science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Sabah campus, said unity among Malays would be vital.

"It is his (Najib's) last chance to unite the Malays before the election, but I expect he will do it in a manner that will not sideline non-Malays."

Puyok said the Umno president would need to lend credence to his 1Malaysia policy which had been a key element in his leadership since 2009.

This is where the component parties will strive to fit in the play and the opposition would try to take advantage of any weakness.

Another analyst, Associate Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), said Umno under Najib in the last three years had "opened up".

"The transformation process which Najib put in place has strengthened BN as a political family and has positioned him as a role model.

"Now, it is a matter of the component parties emulating what he has been doing and leaving little room for the opposition to criticise them."

Sivamurugan, who is USM School of Social Sciences deputy dean, said the assembly would put everyone in a confident election mode.

"Umno needs to motivate its members and component parties which lost ground in the 2008 general election.

"There will be many issues raised in the assembly but what matters most would be how they are translated into action once the election race starts."

Dr Neilson Ilan Mersat, of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak's Social Science Faculty, said component parties would be banking on Umno to stay at the forefront of the election.

Sarawak will only be having the parliamentary election as the state election was held last year but Mersat said the federal race would be just as intense.

"That is why this assembly will be closely watched by all, including the opposition."

- New Straits Times