Umno riding high on ‘red wave’

The country's largest party appears to have recovered from the 2008 political tsunami.

KUALA LUMPUR: The “Red Wave” of Umno members and supporters attending the 2012 Umno general assembly at Putra World Trade Centre here clearly indicates that the country’s largest party has recovered from the political tsunami in the 2008 general election.

The spirit to fight for Umno, the leading party in Barisan Nasional, to face the 13th general election (GE13) is soaring high, not just among the 2,759 delegates in the Merdeka Hall, but also among thousands of Umno supporters outside the hall.

When delivering his policy speech on Wednesday, three times Umno president Najib Tun Razak asked: “Has Umno recovered?” and three times the delegates replied confidently: “Yes!”

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also said Umno, based on the general assembly, had appeared stronger and high spirited, hence indicating that the delegates, and Umno members as a whole, were fully prepared to face the opposition in the GE13.

Come what may, the political power of the Malays must be retained and Putrajaya must be defended – that is the spirit and pledge that would be shared by the delegates with party members, who numbered 3.2 million.

The delegates have also been entrusted with the responsibility to interpret and convey the president’s message, which emphasised the importance of party’s preparedness to face the GE13, with party members at the grassroots level upon returning to their respective constituencies.

Batu Umno chief Yahaya Mat Ghani@Abbas said the fact that Umno had recovered was not just an empty talk by the party’s top leadership, but was actually felt by party members at the grassroots level.

“We [party members] want to win. This is a matter of life and death for us, for our race, for our religion, for our country. If we don’t listen, don’t follow orders from the top leadership, what will happen to our children?” he asked.

The political transformation made by Najib and his team of leaders had been accepted by Umno members and their counterparts in BN component parties, as well as the public who benefit most from the efforts and initiatives taken by the government to improve their social wellbeing.

Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah also acknowledged that the approach adopted by party leadership, that is to go to the ground to meet the people and solve their problems, had succeeded in restoring their faith in Umno and BN.

However, he also reminded Umno not to slack off as the transformation in the leading party of BN should be implemented continuously to ensure that Umno would remain relevant.

As a political analyst, Abdul Ghapa Harun of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia put it: “A government, which is responsive to new challenges and people’s aspiration and then, make transformation, will get the people’s support.”

Najib, in his policy speech, also reminded Umno members that the party was facing a radical demographic change that would influence the people’s taste and aspiration, especially among the more knowledgeable and critical-minded young generation.

The priority, taste, value system and profiles of voters in Malaysia have also contributed to the transformation of the political landscape following the improvement of the quality of life, town-planning process, access to education, advancement of information technology, communication and transportation in the country, he said.

Tokyo Umno Club president Ariff Yasir Zulkafli, who represented the young generation, had expressed hope that Umno would remain in power and continue to become the platform to fight for the rights and interests of the young generation.

His sincere call for Umno members to set aside their differences and to return to Umno’s original objectives should be an eye-opener that the young Umno members were aware and fully understood the ever-changing political landscape of Malaysia.

- Bernama