'Change is in the hearts of Umno Youth'

Only two days to the Umno Youth election and things are heating up, with candidate Akhramsyah Muamar Ubaidah Sanusi showing up in Penang alongside Perkasa members to make his presence felt.

Akhramsyah (right), the newly appointed Bendang Baru Umno Youth head in Langkawi, could pose a threat to incumbent youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

This is mostly because he is seen as a proxy of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohammad, who is very vocal and still exerts his influence openly among the Umno ranks.

When asked about his chances on the five-corner fight, Akhramsyah expressed confidence, saying he has about 60 percent of the support of delegates who are seeking change in the wing's leadership.

"Change is in the hearts of the youths as many have expressed their dissatisfaction at the present leadership," Akhramsyah said at a press conference in Seberang Jaya today.

"They don't know me very well. So the question is whether I can get enough votes to become the leader of Umno Youth," he added.

However Akhramsyah said in his visit to Penang, he found several divisions supporting him although he declined to name them.

Penang Umno Youth is known to be more supportive of Khairy, who is the son-in-law of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who hails from Kepala Batas.

The real battle

Akhramsyah said the real battle in Umno Youth lies between those who support liberalism, or the Malay agenda.

Khairy the sports and youth minister, is seen by many as liberal and populist.

Akhramsyah said Khairy's management of the wing and his plan to change its DNA is "abhorrent and ridiculous".

He also believes that Umno Youth, as they have the ability, should be a pressure group to demand more benefits for the Malays, rather than just organising activities for the community.

"Those who support the Malay agenda are supportive of me as they are rejected by the incumbent. They should be recognised as having contributed to Umno's success in the last election," he stressed.

When asked if his association with outspoken pro-Malay group Perkasa would be a negative factor in his campaign, Akhramsyah did not think so.

"I cannot openly campaign but I will be present to introduce myself at NGO events that I have been invited to attend," he said.

If Khairy retains his post, Akhramsyah said he may have to alienate himself from the wing as he has a totally different political philosophy from the leadership.

He claims this is not a question of being disappointed but that he would be a hypocrite to work with someone he does not agree with.

"In Islam, the punishment for hypocrisy is very great," he remarked.

Pointing out flaws

Akhramsyah added if he failed to win the race this time, he would continue to be active and point out flaws in the leadership as that is the duty of Muslims.

He also condemned DAP publicity chief Tony Pua (left) for describing the Registrar of Societies and Malay Daily Utusan Malaysia as "dogs" for their stand on the party's central executive elections, which was re-held on Sept 29.

He praised ROS and Utusan for jobs well done, and demanded Pua to publicly apologise to them for his rude remarks.

He also urged the party's secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to quit his post as he had brought the DAP to the edge of being deregistered by ROS.

Akhramsyah is facing a five-corner fight against Khairy and three others who are virtually unknowns.

They are Taman Cempaka, Selangor youth division assistant secretary Syed Rosli Syed Harman Jamallulail, Bukit Setiawangsa youth division head Irwan Ambak and former Merbok Youth chief Karim Ali.

Polls for the Youth, Women and division leadership are fixed for Saturday, with the finalised candidates being announced in every state nationwide tomorrow.