Leading up to the Umno general assembly starting Tuesday, Najib Razak wants Umno members to put party above self interest.

Najib who is also Umno president said party members must show commitment to make sacrifices and not let personal feelings or interests overcome party interests.

"People who join the party are many but we want more party people who know the spirit, goals and interests of the party. This is what we want to instill in 3.4 million Umno members," he said in an interview with Bernama at his Putrajaya residence today.

The five-day 2011 Umno general assembly is seen by many as the last assembly before the 13th general election.

The prime minister said Umno members must have feelings of "love and affection" for the party and willing to make sacrifices for the party.

"This is one of the party's principles. We are not asking them to sacrifice their wealth to the party or take personal risks.

"But we ask them not to let personal feelings or demands by groups to overcome interests of the party," he said.

Umno members should be wary of things that can adversely affect the party, and should refrain from doing them as it could weaken the party.

"Everyone in Umno know all these things but just knowing about it will not make it disapppear," said Najib.

Asked about the general assembly which began with a forum and an international conference, he said the programme was not primed for the general election but a vehicle to highlight the party's intellectual value.

It was also to illustrate the role of Umno internationally so that the world understands the objectives of the party, particularly the National Transformation Plan.

Umno to continue championing Malay interests

He also denied allegations that Umno did not champion the interests of Malay causing them to feel marginalised, as the party's agenda continues.

"That is not true. Although we have the 1Malaysia slogan, we never said that the bumiputera agenda is gone. In fact, it is still the main agenda (Umno) and part of our national agenda.

"What we do with other races is to show that it is our government, a fair government that stands on the pillars of social justice."

Najib said the bumiputera agenda will continue, for example, the Bumiputera Agenda Unit (Teraju) that he launched this morning.

"It is a road map where we announced several new initiatives. This means that we never put aside or dilute our struggle for bumiputeras."

Asked about the stand by some Malays that they could survive without Umno, Najib said the people should be aware that the country's success is the result of Umno's struggle.

Citing the theory of American psychologist, Abraham Maslow, he said Umno has successfully met the basic demands of the people by providing various facilities.

He said the diversity of opinion is a sign that society has become more sophisticated and matured.

"I don't say that they must feel indebted to us as many will not be happy. What I want to say is that in addition to our track record and deeds, is our planning for the future.

"What we can promise to the people of Malaysia and Umno is real security that we have delivered and can deliver. InsyaAllah we not only make promises but are able to deliver them to the people," he added.

Excerpts of interview

Question: Datuk Seri did speak about sacrifice and also winnable candidates. So every time the elections come around, it becomes an issue for those holding positions and so on. How would Datuk Seri handle the rivalry between BN candidates in the coming general election?

Najib: We'll define what's a winnable candidate so that for each seat we're contesting, we'll try to put forward a candidate with the best chances of winning.

But we'll not just see the winnable candidate in terms of ability and track record but also in terms of acceptance by society, including the party machinery. If the party machinery rejects a person who has the ability, in the end he'll not succeed.

And, if we as party members are not open-minded and insist that the person must be a candidate based on hierarchy even though our candidate might not win, then what'll happen is that our candidate will fail.

Therefore, the term 'winnable candidate' must be understood. We must convince the party machinery to accept anyone we put forward, otherwise it'll be tough to succeed.

On the other hand, if the winnable candidate is put forth by a group within a certain division without considering the wishes of the majority of voters, that candidate too will fail.

During the last general election, there were claims that candidate evaluations were not done in an organised manner. This time Datuk Seri keeps mentioning winnable candidates; can you share with us how the leadership would identify a winnable candidate?

We haven't finalised it yet (on candidates). We must do an objective evaluation, not just subjective. This is most important. The candidate we select need not be someone we like personally but someone who can be accepted by the majority of voters in a particular area. That's what we must do.

The question of deciding who can be a candidate is very challenging and difficult. It's impossible to please everybody. In my 35 years in politics, it has never happened in a general election (deciding on a candidate who satisfies everyone). But whatever decision the party makes, ultimately we've to accept the party's decision as a party member, even if it's not to our liking.

And I've experienced many episodes where I saw people loyal to the party accepting the party's decisions even though they didn't like it. So if we accept the decision, then that candidate will win. But if they continue to object and say, 'come what may, I'll object', that means they're not loyal to the party and if the candidate loses, it means the party loses. They should realise that when the party loses, it means we'll lose power.

By right, what happened in the 2008 general election when we lost five states is a lesson we should never forget. And we must realise the consequences of that loss. I'm not denying that sometimes we cannot please all our supporters at the divisional level, that's why I said earlier it's impossible for us to satisfy 100 per cent of the members in a division, as even at the divisional level they don't share the same views.

What we must have is party discipline and loyalty to the party. Meaning, when it's time to make the decision (candidate selection), it's accepted, supported and defended by each member of the party.

There are claims that the government, or Umno, has not done enough to assist the Malay community. What's your view on this?

This is not true. Although we promote the 1Malaysia slogan, we've never said that the Bumiputera agenda will be done away with. In fact, it's still the main agenda (of Umno) which is part of our national agenda.

What we've been doing for the other races is to do what is necessary by a government that's fair and one that upholds social justice.

For instance, when we say that we want to help the poor, even during the era of the New Economic Policy (NEP) we'd been talking about poverty eradication irrespective of race. That was the promise made in the 1970s.

Even today, we're still assisting the poor among the non-bumiputeras or those in the low-income group. We've never backed down from the promise made by previous leaders.

So, let's not get confused or misunderstand this; the bumiputera agenda will continue.

A case in point is the 'Bumiputera Economic Transformation: A Roadmap' document, a new initiative for the bumiputeras, which I launched today. Meaning, we've never neglected or backed down from our struggle for the bumiputeras.

At the recent Social Media Convention, you mentioned about the attacks launched by the opposition against you, for instance, the one concerning your Haj pilgrimage and the claim that your family member had been on a spending spree in Australia while you were attending CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting). May we get your view on that, Datuk Seri?

One of the things that determines our fate in an election is the leadership of the prime minister and the president (of Umno), meaning, the main leader. So, if the opposition wants to weaken us, they'll think that they must attack me (as the main leader).

If they cannot attack our policies, they'll resort to character assassination. If they've no issues, they'll spin them, and if they've nothing to spin, they'll create falsehood.

This is how it goes; they think that in politics, everything is fair, including creating something out of nothing, and even when something is truthful, they'll try to undermine it until it becomes an untruth or half-truth.

For instance, when I performed the tawaf (during the recent Haj pilgrimage), they edited out other people (from the pictures) as though I had all the privileges, when in fact, that wasn't the case. I performed the tawaf together with other pilgrims.

When I went for CHOGM (last month), my daughter who was not in Australia, was said to have gone on a spending spree. These are lies and constitute character assassination; because they're so desperate, they're willing to do anything even if it's immoral and unethical.

- Bernama