SHAH ALAM - Umno supreme council member Datuk Razlan Rafii has disagreed that Umno is controlled by warlords, stating the largest Malay party had many leaders since it was founded in 1946.
He is it is DAP that has been having almost the same leaders for decades.
"If you look at DAP, many of their leaders remain the same. Party veteran Lim Kit Siang has just resigned as a political leader in DAP and Anwar Ibrahim is still there in PKR but Umno, we have changed a lot.
"We have had six presidents and I think it is wrong to say say Umno is run by warlords because we keep changing our leaders,” he said.
Razlan said Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had promised to select up new candidates and this was proven during Melaka and Johor state elections with three-fourths of new candidates in Melaka and two-thirds of new candidates in Johor
"I think these are the things that give confidence to the rakyat. It's good to have new candidates and we will change it accordingly,” he said.
Asked about the Umno’s unity, he said despite having different opinions among party members, they are still united as one.
"Umno is actually always been united, if we are not united, I think we would not be able to win Melaka and Johor during the state election.
"Our opponents can say anything they want about us, but I know as a supreme council member, we are stronger due to the unity," he said, adding that the grassroots still back Umno.
Umno's strength, he said lies in its system of referring issues with their grassroots.
He added that Umno is ready for the 15th General Election (GE15) with the hope they are able to form a strong majority government.