Party polls for the top leadership essential say Umno members
SHAH ALAM - As the Umno general assembly convenes this Wednesday evening, all eyes will be on the top leadership of the party and what the messaging and direction will be for Malaysia's oldest political party.
The meeting which will be held over a four day period will offer an insight on whether top delegates nationwide still believe in its president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi and the ship he is currently steering.
For Umno youth exco Mohd Hilmi Elias a contest for the top posts would be essential to gain back the trust of its core supporters - the Malay muslim majority.
" This is the democratic way to find out if Zahid is still relevant as president especially for the grassroots of this party, the president is burdened by corruption charges and his image casts a dark cloud towards Umno itself.
Hilmi said eventhough some camps feel that an election wlll bring about further rifts within the party a contest for the top posts is important especially for the voters to start trusting Umno leaders again.
" The biggest challenge now is to fix the party's image and gain back the trust of the Malay's towards Umno leaders," he told Sinar Daily.
Despite all of the negative rumours that have been plaguing Zahid, Hilmi who is the Umno Permatang Pauh deputy youth chief , believes Zahid at his core is still a good Umno leader.
Hilmi hopes that the general assembly will mainly focus on strengthening the party from the inside out so that the party comes out stronger in order to convince the people of its abilities.
"Now, only 35 percent of Malays are still supporting Umno, it’s a small number, so it’s time for Umno members to work together to gain back the voters, especially those from the youth ,” he added.
Echoing Hilmi’s view, Umno Kedah Information Secretary Mohd Syamil Halim also agreed that a contest for the party's top posts is compulsory to show that Umno is a democratic party.
" It will give a chance for members to choose and that’s why it’s important to have an election for the top leadership posts ," he said.
Syamil added that the main challenges for Zahid to overcome would be the uncertainty and hesitations among the grassroots and delegates due to the decisions that he made for Umno post GE15.
He added that the assembly would be the best platform for the grassroots to voice their grievances, suggestions and views on the party's direction and leadership after waiting for a long time.
" This is the time and the best platform to breathe in a new spirit so that the the party can take steps to rebuild, strengthen, empower amd recover from the party's sadness after the GE15's defeat.
"The most important thing is to avoid infighting with each other and shooting yourself in the foot, the genral assembly is the time to take the opportunity to close ranks and unite again," he added.
The party’s general assembly which is from today (Wednesday) to Saturday, is held after a delay since 2022, and comes ahead of leadership polls that must be held by May.
Umno in May of last year amended its Constitution to allow for leadership polls to be postponed by up to six months after a general election.Many saw this as a move to secure Zahid's position until there were significant changes in the country's political landscape.
Information chief Isham Jalil had recently said that only an amendment to the party constitution can prevent a challenge for Zahid. There have been no such resolution on the agenda for the general assembly.
The general assembly is expected to be attended by 5,523 delegates, including those from the party’s three wings and 675 information chiefs from 191 divisions nationwide.
