The top leadership in Umno must exhibit their confidence in younger leaders by appointing them into the party's inner circle, said Puteri Umno chief Azalina Othman Said.

Speaking at a discussion in conjunction with Hari Belia, which was aired o­n RTM 1 yesterday, she said the trust in younger leaders should be translated in terms of positions in the party.

"As it is now, their rise in the party is o­nly limited to being leaders in Puteri Umno and Umno Youth," she added.

If this trend continues, she said young leaders may loose faith in their future in the party.

Little trust

She added that this would also reflect badly o­n the party and may push the younger generation away from politics.

According to Azalina, it is time for the Umno leadership to seriously consider giving appropriate places to young and capable leaders.

She said a study conducted abroad had shown that a majority of young people are not interested in politics.

"This is because they have little trust in politicians. As such, they choose to undertake their struggle through non-governmental bodies (NGO)," she added.

The Puteri Umno chief said o­ne way to lure the younger generation into active politics was by providing them with the opportunity to move up in a party.

Students issue

Meanwhile, another panelist Umno Youth assistant secretary Zulkifli Alwi stressed o­n the need for politicians to change their approach when dealing with students of higher institutions.

He said their understanding of party politics should not be underestimated and hence they should be treated with respect.

"When we meet them in campus, they talk about big things such as the government transparency and accountability," he said.

Zulkifli added that as long as politicians do not pay heed to the younger generation, the age divide would continue to widen.

On claims that a majority of these students were pro-opposition, he said the immediate thing to do was to help them get access to correct information so that they could make a wiser judgement.

The hour-long discussion was moderated by former Utusan Malaysia Group Editor Johan Jaafar.