Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar defended the party's deputy president who sought to reach out to non-Malays in his speech at the Umno general meeting tonight, saying that it was not to fish for votes at the coming elections.

"No, we're not fishing for the non-Malay votes. It's just that in the era where there is plenty of racial polemic, we are showing that Umno can rise above it.

khairy jamaluddin pc umno agm 191010 01 "Umno has always fought for Malay rights, it is our core. But it has never been at the expense of all Malaysians," he said at a press conference after the wing's opening ceremony.

He was responding to Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin’s speech at the joint opening of the Wanita, Youth and Puteri wings, which called for the spirit of inclusiveness among party members.

"I do agree that we should not be apologetic in our struggles for the Malay race. But it must come with the condition that it is fair for all," said Khairy.

When asked to comment on the score card proposal by Muhyiddin in his speech, Khairy said that he has discussed with Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and that they would be making a formal proposal at the party's management committee.

umno agm muhyiddin opening 191010 03 "Currently, there is no uniform, systematic and objective way for the grassroots to evaluate their members.

"But this score card proposal will need to have very specific elements so that it can work," he said.

He also lauded the fact that the aspect of performance is high on the priority list for the deputy president.

"It is good that the DPM has put performance as a criteria for the wings and its leaders. It is important that we have the performance culture to prepare us for the next general election," he said.

    

Online media barred from Umno AGM

Khairy was also shocked when reporters pointed out that selected online media - including Malaysiakini - have been barred from covering the Umno general assembly proceedings.

"If that's the case, I'll bring it to the (party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor).

umno agm muhyiddin opening 191010 02 "Last year, I was also critical of the fact that new media were not allowed in. We want to show openness in Umno, and there is no reason for certain media organisations to be barred from the assembly," he said.

Several online portals including The Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today and Merdeka Review have been blocked from covering the assembly when they were not issued press tags despite having applied for it.

Umno has consistently barred online media from covering its AGMs over the years.

Umno AGM: Will 1Malaysia or race rhetoric prevail?