Sunday April 6, 2008
Muhyiddin: BN should change
MUAR: The Barisan Nasional Government should initiate a major shift in the way it manages the country, as the people now can see what the Pakatan Rakyat can provide in the five states it rules.
Umno vice-president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that things had changed now and the people could compare what the Pakatan states and Barisan states could provide.
He said that Barisan leaders, including Umno, should undergo a drastic change and allow others to speak up.
“We must listen to what others say and if what they said is the truth, we should accept it or say they are right,” he said.
“We cannot stop or prevent any party leader from speaking up and I say this because I am very concerned with the present situation,” he told newsmen at the Pagoh Barisan Nasional thanksgiving get-together yesterday.
Muhyiddin also said that there was a need for Umno Johor to form a think-tank to look into the people’s needs, to better understand their aspirations and feelings towards Barisan and also Umno.
He said that he had proposed this to Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman at the state Umno liaison meeting and Abdul Ghani was receptive.
He said that the think-tank, comprising specialists from various fields, would also provide guidelines to help party leaders with strategic political plans to regain the people’s confidence.
“Although Johor was not badly hit by the political tsunami, we cannot continue to take things for granted.
“We must work hard from now on to ensure that Umno and Barisan Nasional remain strong in Johor,” he said.
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Supra-ethnic politics our only way forward?
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But the political parties that are acceptable to and believed in by many Malaysians are the ones flying high right now.
Parti Keadilan Rakyat entered mainstream politics as a party for all races and now has 31 members of parliament from the one it had before.
Pas increased the number of its MPs from six to 23, largely due to its moderate and more multi-racial approach.
The idea that Umno should become a party that is "trusted by the Malays and non-Malays alike" was thrown in by Tengku Tan Sri Razaleigh Hamzah who on Friday kick-started his campaign to challenge Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for the Umno presidency in the December party polls.
He had offered this remedy among others to heal Umno, which he claimed had suffered diminished credibility among the various races as reflected in the party's poor showing in the March 8 polls.
In redirecting Umno into a new outlook, the 71-year-old Kelantan prince said it had to be done without compromising the party's original vision for the Malays and the nation.
"Umno has to project itself as a party for the rakyat, regardless of race. We want Umno to be a supra-ethnic party, a national party which is fair to the rakyat," he said in his speech at the opening of the Gua Musang division's delegates' meeting, which was attended by some 3,000 people, mostly observers from other Umno divisions.
The meeting passed a resolution calling for the party leadership to hold an emergency general meeting on May 11 or any other suitable date to discuss Umno's performance in last month's general election.
Tengku Razaleigh may be seen as a dissident who is out to fulfil his ambition of becoming Umno president and prime minister, but his idea could set off a train of much needed thought in an organisation that has lacked imagination for the past several years.
He is not the first to suggest an all-embracing Umno.
Abdullah, as president of the country's largest party, has repeatedly stressed that he is prime minister for all Malaysians. Umno Penang, now in opposition, has set up a unit for non-Malay affairs.
Against the popular rainbow alliance of the PKR, DAP and Pas, Umno has to free itself from being seen or perceived as a party that only takes care of the interests of the Malays.
A brainstorm on ways to be more appealing to other races could lead to an undoing of the antipathy that built up since the televised 2006 general assembly, whose racial polemics astonished not just the non-Malays but many Malays as well.
Umno has to accept the fact that despite efforts by its leaders to defend such misconstrued actions as the wielding of the kris, it has remained a thorn to this day.
Like it or not, there is also a measure of truth to Tengku Razaleigh's allegations that some Umno leaders lost votes because of their behaviour.
Arriving in luxury vehicles and dressed in expensive finery at public gatherings in rural areas put off the poor, who are finding it hard to make ends meet because of the rising prices of essential items.
Umno's 3.2 million members should delve deeper into their souls and sense of purpose than they have so far.
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Sunday April 6, 2008
Ahmad Zahid: Dr Mahathir wrecking Umno
PETALING JAYA: Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he still remembers the warning Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave him about “not throwing a stone at a glasshouse.”
He said he was then the Umno Youth chief and the glasshouse depicted Umno while Dr Mahathir had referred to the stone as criticisms he (Ahmad Zahid) had made against the party.
“But now Dr Mahathir is the one using a bigger stone to throw at the glasshouse not only to destroy the ‘walls’ but to totally destroy the whole glasshouse.
“Will it not be better if a leader like Dr Mahathir use a better method to criticise the leadership and not the way of the Opposition?
“The Opposition will use his criticisms to destroy Umno, as Dr Mahathir is wrecking Umno from the inside while the Opposition is trying to destroy it from the outside,” he said<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday April 6, 2008
Prove Umno members unhappy, Nazri tells Ku Li
IPOH: Produce the proof to show that Umno members are unhappy, instead of making general statements that put party leaders in a bad light.
That is the challenge issued by Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah when commenting on the hard-hitting speech of the Gua Musang Umno chief at the opening of the extraordinary general meeting of his division.
“If you say there is a groundswell of dissenting voices, why should you worry? Prove it if you say, on the ground, people are not happy,” said Nazri yesterday at Kampung Sungai Tapah in Manjoi after handing out aid to 293 flood victims, who received RM500 each.
Similarly, on the issue of abolishing the use of the nomination quota in the party elections, Nazri said: “If a candidate is serious and there is a groundswell of support for you, why should you worry about the difficulty of getting the 58 divisions?”
According to the party constitution, members need a minimum of 30% of the nominations from the 191 divisions to be eligible to contest the president’s post, 20% for the deputy presidency, 10% for the vice-presidency and 5% for supreme council seats.
At the Gua Musang EGM on Friday, Tengku Razaleigh hit out at party leaders and called for reforms on three issues.
Tengku Razaleigh said that the nomination quota should be abolished because it had stifled democracy in the party.
Nazri said that Tengku Razaleigh should not make general statements because it was not fair to Umno leaders.
“If there is proof of corruption, go to the ACA. I’d like to maintain that there are no corrupt leaders. If there are, report them and charge them in court,” added Nazri.
On Tengku Razaleigh’s call for an EGM to discuss the party’s performance in the general election and the future of the party, Nazri said only two divisions out of a total of 191 had decided to go ahead with it.
On the impending fight for the Umno Youth chief post, he said it was good for democracy.
“Any contest is good so long as they are conducted in a proper and civil manner, it is good for democracy. Umno is a democratic party,” he added***************************************************************************
Sunday April 6, 2008
‘No bar against EGM call’
JOHOR BARU: State Umno divisions are not prohibited from calling for an extraordinary general meeting but they must conform to party constitution.
Johor Umno liaison chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, however, said that it would be more appropriate to follow the proper channels as the party was going to hold its meetings at every level this year anyway.
“The branch and division meetings between July and November are the best platform for members to voice out their opinions.
“Those meetings will be followed by the general assembly in December,” he told pressmen after chairing the party’s state liaison meeting yesterday.
He added that he did not know how many divisions had opted to call for the meetings.
Asked on the party’s quota nominations, Abdul Ghani said it was not discussed during the meeting as it could take the focus away from efforts to strengthen the party.
On the party’s state information chief Dr Puad Zarkashi’s call for Prime Minister and Umno President Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down, he said it was Dr Puad’s personal opinion and not the view of Johor Umno.
Abdul Ghani said Johor Umno would focus on strengthening the party through instilling unity among the Malays statewide.
“We will not implement efforts that will create chaos for the party,” he said.
“We will focus on roping in the younger generations in order to win back the protest votes as some 20% to 40% of swing votes favoured the Opposition during the last general election,” he said.
Commenting on Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah's statement that the party was in a state of emergency, Pasir Gudang Umno division chief Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said it was not quite correct but the party must analyse it so that challenges can be faced successfully.
Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad said Tengku Razaleigh’s statement was an overreaction
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Umno man stands by his statement
KUANTAN: Pahang Umno liaison secretary Datuk Ahmad Tajuddin Sulaiman said he would not change his stand that all supreme council members should resign for the party's poor performance in the general election.Ahmad Tajuddin caused a furore among Umno leaders when he called for the resignation of all supreme council members on Friday.
The move is appropriate as he claimed the party president should not hold the responsibility for the poor performance alone.
He was also quoted saying that the party should allow its delegates to elect new supreme council members to replace the old council.
Asked whether he received pressure after making such a controversial statement, Ahmad Tajuddin said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob had told him that he would be sacked.
"But I'm not sure whether he wanted to sack me from my post or from the party."
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2008/04/06
Umno 'not in state of emergency'
JOHOR BARU: The perception that Umno is in a state of emergency is inaccurate, the party's Johor Baru division head, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, says.
"So, if one is to say 'emergency', I feel one may see it in terms of the loss in Penang when Gerakan lost which allowed the DAP and its partners to form the government.
"In Perak, not that there was a lack of Umno candidates but Barisan Nasional lost because of the power-sharing spirit between Umno and other component parties which saw non-Malay candidates being fielded in Malay areas."
On Friday, Gua Musang Umno head Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said the party was in a state of emergency and in need of a major overhaul after its poor showing in the recent elections.
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2008/04/06'It's good that many seek top Youth post'MALACCA: "The more the merrier," was how Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam described the candidates who had stated their intention to run for the Umno Youth chief's post in the party elections at the end of this year. "This shows that we are not short of candidates". "This is a very good development as we have to ensure continuity in the party, especially at the youth level as they would one day be leading Umno. "We are a democratic party and anyone can offer himself as a candidate for the top post in Umno Youth.
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According to the party constitution, members need a minimum of 30% of the nominations from the 191 divisions to be eligible to contest the president’s post, 20% for the deputy presidency, 10% for the vice-presidency and 5% for supreme council seats.
“If a candidate is serious and there is a groundswell of support for you, why should you worry about the difficulty of getting the 58 divisions?” meaning you have to be ultra popular and have the means to traverse the country rallying support, using taxpayers' money whilst on the pretext of working visits. The recent general election lends support to this fact, whereby in Kelantan for example, 2 or 3 federal ministers performed ground breaking or opening ceremonies on the same site or location on the very same day.
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