Khairy: It's game time!

If Umno does not stand by what is right then the people would desert us, warned Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin today.

He said Umno had to attract the interest "of all races... because Chinese, Indians, Kadazan, Dayak, they all know that Umno is the bedrock of Barisan Nasional."

"This is my message to the delegates in Umno, it is important to show that the parties within the coalition have close cooperation and are not seen as subordinates to Umno," he added.

Khairy said that all BN component parties were plagued by problems but they should not be pushed aside because of this.

"I am saying that they are having problems, but we need to show that people could come back to BN because they like MIC, MCA and Umno.

"If not they would say MCA and MIC are useless because they cannot stand up to Umno because Umno is too exclusive," he said.

"So now I want to show the inclusiveness so that people would respect BN and that would also help to rebuild MIC, MCA and Gerakan," he added.

Khairy said that Umno should be concerned like a brother and if a sibling was suffering from a terrible ailment then Umno should help and take him to a doctor.

Speaking at a press conference after delivering his first policy speech after being elected as Youth chief in March, Khairy accepted that the delegates found it hard to digest his call to drop the communal perspective.

Taking Umno Youth into the 21st century

Nevertheless, the Umno Youth chief said that he felt a sense of calling to chart a new course for the Youth wing as envisioned by the prime minister’s '1Malaysia' concept.

"(If not) then people would say the prime minister says one thing and Umno says another... I want to lead from the front (but) I don't know how the delegates would react or respond.

"It takes awhile normally (to understand the points raised in his speech), but most of them have said it was a good speech, and congratulated me. I hope I had presented it in a manner that they could accept," he added.

He reminded that the party leadership must show its qualities, and lead from the front. "I am going to try and drag Umno Youth kicking and screaming into the 21st century".

"If I fail, at least I had failed in trying to do something right," he said.

Khairy also stressed that in order to move forward it was important for the Malays to stop being defensive and step out of the cocoon.

"If you don't want to change, then politically we are going to lose and in terms of a Malay community we are not going to survive.

"Otherwise the conductor is conducting a masterpiece but the orchestra is playing the same old tune, that is what happened before... so I want to (convey) to the president, come what may, I would be with him leading from the front and (if) I go down with this message, then I go down," he said.

"My speech echoes the prime minister's call for Umno reform... Umno has to cross the borders of race, and religion to appeal to all, maybe not our membership because we are still a Malay-based party but in our outreach for ideas (and) the way we do things, (it) must be acceptable to all," he said.

As for his attack on Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim during his speech, Khairy said: "Whether we like it or not he is still in the game."

"My part (the speech) on the opposition especially on Anwar, is to remind the new generation who have been cheated and confused that this guy is the paragon of virtues," he added.

Later when asked on the barring of online media from covering today’s general assembly, Khairy said: "I don't know if it is the party policy (but) as far as am I concerned if there is nothing to hide here and you are free to come and report.”

"As far as I am concerned...we must recognise them (the new media) because they are going to report it anyway... if we don't engage them we are going to lose out," he said.

Do you hear anything offensive being said?

During another press conference held in the evening, Khairy denied that his speech did not go down well with the delegates.

"Do you hear anything offensive being said about the non-Malays?" he asked, alluding that the delegates were abiding to the points raised in his speech about fostering closer racial ties.

However, Khairy noted that it would take time for his messages concerning the new Malay dilemma to sink in.

On the allocation to Umno Youth divisions, he said he would discuss with the party president for it to be channeled directly to Umno Youth divisions and not through the division chiefs.