The cold reception to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin’s speech urging delegates to be more inclusive does not mean that it is not accepted by the movement.

Admitting that his speech was “not traditional”, Khairy insists that the delegates fully understood and accepted his appeal to adapt to the new political scenerio.

“They accepted it. It is not a traditional Umno Youth speech to rally and incite the movement’s spirit, but they accepted it fully.

khairy jamaluddin pc umno agm 191010 01 “You saw last night during (Umno deputy president) Muhyiddin Yassin’s speech. They all accepted it,” Khairy ( left ) told reporters after delivering his policy speech at the Umno Youth annual general assembly.

In his speech, Khairy said that the Malays were split between Umno and traditional rivals PAS and thus the movement must be appealing to non-Malays to ensure victory in the elections.

He said that if Umno were to believe that it can survive without non-Malay votes, the party risks losing up to 50 seats in the next general election.

Khairy also chided those who called non-Malays pendatang (immigrants) and urged delegates and all Malaysians to drop racial prejudice.

This however was met by eerie quiet from the 793 delegates who are normally boisterous during past Umno Youth chief policy speeches.

KJ: Not an easy speech

On the government decision not to legislate laws on race relations, Khairy replied that the core of good race relations depends on empathy, which cannot be legislated.

“What I talk about is emphathy. You have to understand how people feel. You cannot legislate that. You have to break down the wall.

“It is not an easy speech to make during the Umno Youth general assembly as their leader, but this is leadership. When you are in a position of leadership you must lead.

“Say what you want them to hear and hope they will support your (efforts for) change,” he said.

On his call for the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) to be amended to allow student participation in politics, Khairy said that this was a necessity.

“A lot of students are asking (about the law) in view of many students joining Umno overseas clubs... I am saying that this is what the youths think,” he said.

He said that the move will increase support in Umno among youths and stressed that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had expressed openness to the idea during the BN Youthlab Townhall meeting.

During his speech, Khairy argued that the amendments were necessary because youths were no longer receptive to “top-down” propaganda and are capable of critical thinking.