Restore the confidence of the younger generation to vote for Umno in the future, says Mahdzir
KUALA LUMPUR - After years of damaging internal conflict and an image marred by corruption, Umno should focus on restoring the confidence of the younger generation to vote for the party in the future.
Its Vice-President Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said Umno should be flexible enough to adapt to the times and be mindful enough on what the people need and want.
" In politics, there must change and critical thinking and it must be for a reason.
" Umno members should learn to adapt to any situation, especially on how to attract young voters to believe in this party again," he told Sinar Daily.
Mahdzir said he hoped that in the upcoming general assembly members and leaders would put their heads together to bring back the party to its glory days.
" We are haunted by various issues, mainly corruption. In GE15 we were labelled as a corrupt party. We need to get our dignity back.
" I hope we can discuss on effective mechanisms and formulas to strengthen the party to face the next general elections.
"In GE15, we saw a big Perikatan Nasional (PN) wave that has become a phenomenon, especially in states with Malays voters. We need to get that kind of support back ," he added.
Mahdzir said he believed that party members were willing to go the distance to ensure that Umno was ready for the next general elections.
"In politics, we don’t have the word ‘no’, we have to be prepared all the time." he stressed.
All eyes will be on the party's general assembly this week, following its worst outing at the 15th General Elections in November.
Party president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi will most likely urge the party leadership to close ranks and call for members to fully support his controversial decision to play house with Pakatan Harapan.
In a press conference on Tuesday the party's secretary general Ahmad Maslan played coy on whether the party will decide if the top two posts in Umno will be contested in the party's upcoming polls.
Rumours have been swirling that former vice-president Hishamuddin Hussein might challenge the posts, although he has been mainly quiet in the local political scene, except for voicing his disagreement that Umno decided to work with Pakatan Harapan.
Currently some members seem to be disgrunted with Zahid's leadership after the party failed to win the most parliamentary seats in the November polls. It is left to be seen whether this will mood will permeate this evening at the start of the general assembly.
