If Hishammuddin Hussein's legacy as Umno Youth Chief was kissing the keris in a show of Malay power, his succesor Khairy Jamaluddin seemed to be opting for a less colourful path.

 

Khairy had just received a very strong mandate in the recent party polls, but he has chosen to break away from the firebrand politics Umno Youth is known for.

 

Without the keris waving, chest beating and minimal non-Malay bashing, Umno Youth under Khairy seems to have sobered up.

 

Compared to the histrionics leading up to the party polls, the proceedings today indicated that the Umno Youth had made a sharp U-turn from the right and is now aiming to get closer towards the centre.

 

It is likely that the youth wing had taken their cue from Umno president Najib Abdul Razak who in yesterday's closed door meeting with party delegates set the course for GE14.

 

While Malaysians are still hung over from the 13th general election, proceedings today indicate that the party is intensely focused on the next election which must take place before 2018.

 

If debates today are anything to go by, Umno Youth have worked out a three-pronged strategy: targetting the youths, urbanites and the Malay core.  

 

Going young

 

If Pakatan Rakyat boasts youth appeal, Umno Youth is going barely legal - 17-year-olds who will in four years time be first-time voters.   

 

Under the new cadre programme, Khairy said, Umno Youth will be targeting secondary schools as early as next month and recruiting those as young as 17 to join the newly-formed Captain Hussein Leadership Academy, named after the first Umno Youth chief Hussein Onn.  

 

They will also be heading out to universities and other tertiary institutes to participate in forums to let young people know that Umno is not just a party for backward old fogies.

 

"We will also be heading all over the world to recruit at universities there so those of you who want to travel please contact the (Umno Youth) international bureau," Khairy said during his speech to wind-up the debate session.

 

Making ends meet

 

The post-GE13 reports seemed to have also pushed Umno to focus more on practical matters - a brand of politics Umno Youth calls "progressive".  

 

But progressive politics for Umno Youth, however, still bears a kind of hand-out mentality.  

 

There were some lamenting about discrimination from non-bumiputera firms, but delegates mostly had the fat cats in government-linked companies (GLC) in their cross hairs.  

 

And even then, the demands were relatively meagre, exemplified by one delegate who said: "(Malay youths want) nasi lemak contracts for small entrepreneurs, not 'billion-ringgit vendor programmes'".

 

Similarly, it is the gripes of the urban working class - higher electricity cost, rising cost of living and property prices - problems which Umno hopes to help "solve" to win the urban vote.  

 

Turning holy

 

Another running theme in the debates was the push for constitutional change to define Muslims in Malaysia as Sunnis, as suggested by Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin last night.

 

For Khairy, this hardline stance, which included some anti-LGBT and liberal democracy bashing, addresses "Muslims anxieties". Whether this "anxiety" is manufactured or real is anyone's guess.

 

Although it may seem like growing Islamisation in Umno, one has to wonder if it was merely superficial. As one delegate remarked during his speech, Umno Youth speaks of defending Islam but their members themselves lack religious credentials.

 

To this, the youth chief later responded that Umno youth was inclusive in nature. It not only attracts young religious scholars, but plenty of professionals as well.

 

Speaking to reporters after the assembly came to a close, Khairy was asked how he can claim Umno Youth to be progressive when the other components of the party remain friendly to groups like Perkasa, who have a more conservative outlook.  

 

"I am only responsible for Umno Youth, but I hope the other sections will follow suit," he said.  

 

Voters, he said, don't only look at Umno Youth alone, but the entire party.  

 

But will KJ's message be heeded? The answer lies in the main body's AGM tomorrow.