UMNO AGM Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil has issued an eyebrow-raising challenge to illustrate that the wing’s members are still "strong" and "not just ordinary old people".

"I am 60, you are 60, let's challenge (to see) who is stronger.

"No need to use gamat (an oil derived from sea cucumbers) or lubricants," she said in her winding up speech at the wing’s general assembly this evening.

Shahrizat said Wanita Umno’s strength was proven during the elections, where members took to the ground and played a major role in ensuring a victory for BN.

Dismissing the perception that the wing comprises of elderly women, she said:“ (Despite) being old, we are not ill, come and challenge.”

The former minister also stressed that Wanita Umno is the backbone of the party and shoulders immense responsibility.

“We are not a wing but the backbone,” he said.

Touching on Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin’s opening speech yesterday, where he called on the party to make drastic changes, Shahrizat said her wing accepted it though his remarks were a bitter pill to swallow.

“His speech was explosive and I admit it was bitter. We (Umno) are suffering from fever, and if we do not take medicine, how will we get better,” she added.

'We are mothers, there's a place for everyone'

Speaking at a press conference later, Shahrizat explained that the Sedition Act should be retained because the nation would be in danger without the legislation.

“If there is no peace, unity, security, then there is no reason for us to live in Malaysia.

“What we want is that all the articles in the federal constitution cannot become subjects of sedition (seditious remarks),” she said.

The Wanita Umno chief dispelled the claim that such a move was for the Malay agenda.

“When we say that all articles in the constitution must be protected, this is not only for the Malays and bumiputera, but for the Chinese, Indians and others as well,” she said.

Shahrizat reiterated her reminder to Wanita Umno members not to question the citizenship and rights of non-Malays.

"This is not a Malay agenda. This agenda is for the rakyat. There is a little something for everybody there that must remain sacred. And I really mean it. We are mothers and there is a place for everyone," she added.

Shahrizat was also confident that Wanita Umno would be able to collect the one million signatures calling for the retention of the Sedition Act by next January.

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