Don’t dance to someone else’s tune, says Umno’s Tok Mat

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan reminded party members of the words of founding president Onn Jaafar.

PETALING JAYA: Umno members were urged today not to “dance to someone else’s tune” but to uphold its traditions and founding spirit.

In a message on the eve of the party’s 74th anniversary, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan quoted the words of the founding president, Onn Jaafar, who had said: “Strike up the violin firmly with our own tune, do not allow others to play the tune, leaving us merely dancing to their tune.”

Mohamad, better known as Tok Mat, added: “We know what it means.”

He did not amplify on his remarks, which come at a time when Umno’s relationships with its partners in the ruling Perikatan Nasional alliance have come under question, while PPBM has been riven with internal strife over its relationship with Umno, which led to the collapse of the previous Pakatan Harapan government.

Mohamad urged Umno members to renew their commitment to the party, and prevent it from becoming a mooring for power, wealth and personal interest.

He said Umno was far from perfect and had its own faults, but Umno members must never tire of bringing reforms and changes to the party.

Members must also strive to make Umno a party for all Malays instead of for a selective elite.

“They must also strive not to repeat past mistakes which had eroded the confidence of the people. They must commit themselves to becoming the real voice of the Malays and of Malaysians.”

Mohamad said that after the party’s defeat at the May 9 general election in 2018, many had spoken loudly about Umno’s demise, yet the party remained part of the government.

He said that while nothing was sacred in the party, one certainty remained, that Malays and Malaysia could not do without Umno as a political force. - FMT