Be aggressive in wooing Malay voters, Hatta tells Amanah

Amanah has been urged to move fast to win the Malay votes that Umno has lost. (Bernama pic)

IPOH: Amanah must take a more aggressive approach to woo Malay voters, especially those who have quit Umno, the party’s elections director Mohd Hatta Md Ramli said.

However, he said that the party had to wholeheartedly reject racial politics which was a popular strategy to attract the Malays.

“We feel the political scenario has changed. The collapse of Umno is imminent, but we must move fast to win the votes which Umno has lost.

“Don’t raise racial or religious issues to woo the Malays. We must take an approach which shows that a successful government is one where the people live comfortably, are not worried and their future is bright,” he said at Amanah National Convention here today.

Hatta, who is the deputy entrepreneur development minister, said Amanah was confident of winning the May 9 polls based on the approach taken by the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

“We contested 34 parliamentary seats but won only 11 seats or 32%, and that’s a failure. So, if anyone thinks the elections director should step down, it will be considered.

“As for the state seats, we won 34 out of the 110 contested, which is 31%. So, if that’s a failure, I will ask all the state election directors to quit also,” he said in jest.

He said that overall, PH recorded the highest number of Malay votes in Selangor, with 39%, and the lowest in Terengganu, with 7%.

Amanah daily

Meanwhile, Amanah communications director Khalid Abdul Samad revealed that the party plans to launch a daily to help create greater awareness in its bid to strengthen the party.

“One of the best ways to strengthen Amanah is through a newspaper, especially in the interior areas,” he told delegates.

Khalid said the party’s current mouthpiece, known as Amanah, which was only circulated among party members, would now be renamed ‘Mingguan Amanah’ (weekly) and sold to the public for RM2 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM2.50 in Sabah and Sarawak.

“Once the sales of the weekly is good, we can carry many advertisements. Then, we will have more funds and possibly produce a daily,” he said. -FMT