All 20,342 Umno branch leaders nationwide will be send for courses to realise efforts to strengthen and transform the party.

Umno vice-president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the courses, as proposed by party president Najib Razak, would be organised to restore the spirit of the party's struggle, to make it more dynamic and in line with the transformation to be carried out.

In his speech when winding up the debate at the Umno general assembly here today, he said the party's training bureau, which he is the chairman, had organised 189 courses, involving the participation of 24,244 members, over a one-year period from October last year.

On an issue raised by a delegate, Ahmad Zahid said the transformation carried out by Najib when he helmed the Defence Ministry for 14 years would be carried out with the government's announcement that the death benefit for ex-servicemen to be increased to RM3,000 from RM500 previously.

He believed that this would boost the spirit of the ex-servicemen and would spur them to work hard and help Umno to wrest back the states which were won by the opposition in the last general election.

- Bernama