Umno needs to be proactive in identifying winnable candidates for GE16 - Johari Ghani

KUALA LUMPUR - Umno as a party needs to have a winning mentality in order to win big in elections, vice president Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said in his winding up speech at the party's general assembly here today.

"If we want to win, we need to think like winners and speak like winners, if we do not have winnable candidates and a strong party machinery behind us, it will be of no use.

"Take for example what happened with a statesman like former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who has led for 22 years, despite who he is, he lost in the last general election because he did not have a strong party.

"This is why strong party machinery and candidates cannot be separated; they go hand in hand," he stressed.

Johari added that there was a need to change the 'unique' way the party always chooses its election candidates.

"Usually what happens is that we pick a candidate two days before the nomination date; if we could identify these candidates earlier, it would be better.

"We should also do a review of the candidates, if they don't perform, then we should change the candidate in the next election," he said.

Johari added that if there was dissatisfaction with how the party machinery runs, it must be resolved quickly.

"We want to be able to act fast, not organise the party machinery when the Parliament dissolves," he cautioned.