Umno to 'Spam' their way into the hearts of youths

As the 14th general election looms ever closer, Umno Youth and BN are trying a new initiative to win over undecided young voters, with Spam.

Spam is short for Skuad Penerangan Anak Muda (Youth Information Squad).

Spam is also defined as irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over email or other messaging services to a large number of users, typically for illicit purposes. Such emails are also typically automatically filtered out by most email services.

Whether this double entendre was intentional or not is unclear.

Umno Youth Information chief Jamawi Jaafar was quoted by Bernama as saying that the squad consists of youths from various backgrounds, including orators, Islamic speakers, and social media operators.

He said the squad, currently 280-members strong, would explain and hold dialogues with youths on current issues.

“If we only approach the young people who have joined Umno, they make up only 1.9 million voters. In fact, we have about 15 million voters who have not joined any (political) party.

“As such, they (Spam members) are equipped with all information related to current issues and could sit together to have a chat and tell stories with the young people in small or large groups anywhere,” he said reporters after launching the squad at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC).

The launch was officiated by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.- Mkini