Withdraw! Dr M tells Selangor Umno chiefs

He says Selangor Umno needs to be rebuilt with new faces.

PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has called for the dissolution of the Selangor Umno leadership so that it can be rebuilt with new faces.

Apparently responding to party president Najib Tun Razak’s remarks at last weekend’s Selangor Umno convention, Mahathir said the current Umno leadership in the state was so bereft of talent that not a single member could qualify as a candidate for Menteri Besar.

Mahathir made the startling comments in his latest blog entry at chedet.cc.

“Selangor Umno leaders should accept the reality that they lost in the 12th and 13th general elections,” he said. “They should withdraw.”

He said Selangor Umno could easily find someone with the calibre to lead the state if it were more open to new faces.

He added: “Umno leaders usually don’t like to accept talented new members because they fear the challenge and the prospect of losing their positions or being bypassed in the choice of candidates for general elections.

“That’s why they concentrate their work on strengthening their own positions instead of strengthening Umno.”

He suggested that the first thing Selangor Umno should do in remaking itself is to accept plenty of new members, especially talented ones.

But he said the membership drive should incorporate a weeding mechanism handled by Umno veterans “because there are destructive creatures who would use Umno for their own personal agendas.”

Mahathir also called on Selangor Umno to address the perception that Umno is corrupt.

“Umno leaders should be more modest in their lifestyle,” he said. “They should get close to the people, and not just Umno members. And they should never ever use luxury cars when going into the kampungs.”