Wings clipping the vessel

Though expected, the dreaded outcome eventually prevailed and confirmed. UMNO Wanita and Pemuda delegates through the newly introduced ‘electoral college system’ voted the ‘tainted’ and ‘Neo Con Trojan Horse’ back in.

Published: Sunday October 13, 2013 MYT 12:46:00 AM
Updated: Sunday October 13, 2013 MYT 12:53:28 AM

Umno polls: Liberal, progressive agenda has prevailed, says Khairy

BY RAHIMY RAHIM AND RASHVINJEET S.BEDI

Khairy Jamaluddin with his wife Nori Abdullah and mother Datuk Rahmah Abdul Hamid.

KUALA LUMPUR: Re-elected Umno youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said his progressive and liberal agenda has been endorsed by the grassroots.

He said that if the grassroots did not accept the agenda tha he brought along, it would be reflected in the results, pointing out that his opponents used a regressive agenda.

“If I wanted to win comfortably, I could have used a right-wing formula. I wanted to show that you can be a progressive and win in Umno,” he said during a press conference at PWTC.

He added that the progressive agenda had to start with the youth who would one day bring the party forward.

“We have to start somewhere. We must be ahead of the curve,” he said.

He however stressed that the official results were not out and victory could not be taken for granted.

Unofficially Khairy has won a thumping simple majority in the contest, which pitted him against four other contenders.

When asked about the difference between this election and the previous one in 2009, he said each had its own challenges.

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Four weeks ago, UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin vowed to change UMNO from being the nationalist party since 1946 into a centrist party.

Published: Sunday September 15, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Sunday September 15, 2013 MYT 11:44:22 AM

Khairy aims to make Umno Youth more centrist

BY NIK MAZWIN NIK ANIS AND RAZAK AHMAD

PUTRAJAYA: Khairy Jamaluddin, who looks set to be returned unopposed as Umno Youth chief, will use his second term to cultivate a more centrist approach for the wing that has traditionally been a pressure group.

He said that being vocal in expressing right-wing sentiment in defending the interests of the party was no longer appropriate.

“I am trying to change the DNA of Umno Youth from being mostly right-wing and Malay-centric to a more centrist wing that focuses on issues and their solutions,” Khairy said in an interview.

With nominations due on Saturday, Khairy has yet to be challenged in the post that he won in the 2009 polls, beating Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir and former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo.

Khairy stressed that he would not compromise on the party’s core struggle to uphold the interests of Islam, the Malays and the country.

”We will still fight to empower the Malay community, protect the sanctity of Islam and defend this country, but the way we do this must be different,” he said.

One plan he has to re-orientate the wing is to set up a “finishing school” to groom potential young leaders who will be identified from the ranks of Umno Youth and Puteri Umno and from among new members still studying in universities.

The finishing school will expose the members to what Khairy calls “the new politics” and will train them on topics such as human rights, media relations and the social media.

“Whatever I can do to change the DNA of Umno Youth I will do in this last term and one way I want to do it is by rewriting our political education training module for use in the finishing school,” he said.

He added that both the Umno president and deputy president had agreed to the proposal to set up the finishing school which will be headed by supreme council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

The 37-year-old Khairy admitted that his approach to politics has not gone down well with conservatives in the party who accuse him of being too liberal in his outlook.

“I get called all sorts of names, but I think this is the way forward. If I get a second term I will be 41 years old at the end of it, which is just the right age for me to leave Umno Youth.”

“What I want to do is make sure the changes I am making remain in place after I am gone.”

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As a ‘solutions-based’ political party, UMNO would lose its ideology. Instead, UMNO would then pander to popularism and the gallery, and accept issues such as apostasy, protelysation and LGBT practices amongst the Malay-Muslims.

Wanita UMNO gave Shahrizat Abdul Jalil a thumping support, despite her tainted image in the NFC-scandal involving her immediate family and the more recent the Yayasan Kebajikan Negara.

These Wings are UMNO’s major operation subsidiaries, where the tactical moves are being engineered and realised. These results would not be acceptable to the growing segment of the population  professional and educated ladies and they would isolate themselves away from the party. The workforce amongst women especially in the graduate and professional bands are growing compared to the men.

The win must a content of rejoice for the majority of Wanita UMNO. They ramblessly trying to convince amongst themselves that they have made the right choice ‘protecting the unity of the Wanita UMNO’, to soldier on the same of Perjuangan and continuity. However, in reality they are just a bunch of inward looking infighting-achievers who might win a penny, but eventually lose the pound.

As Khairy already boasting that “The Liberal agenda prevailed”, it is safe to assume his minions would eventually replace the current senior and top leadership in UMNO Divisions across the board. Most likely within the next two party elections.

By then, UMNO’s soul as a nationalist, conservative and right wing political party for the Malays would systematically fizzle out and dissipate in favour of the liberalist ideology and centrist approach.

It is safe to state that the ‘Thinning of the Wedge’ has begun. There is an apt proverb for this, ‘Sokong membawa rebah‘. -bigdogdotcom