An Umno division leader has warned his party that it will be perilous to sideline youths, as they wield an enormous influence in shaping the political future of this nation.

Syed Ali Alhabshee also pointed out that in the last general election, younger voters seemed to back the opposition.

“They are an important asset for Umno’s future. Their influence will ‘colour’ the direction of the party’s struggle,” he added in a blog post today.

Based on his observation, Syed Ali said youths, including professionals, joined political parties out of interest in politics or to use it as a platform to voice their protest against the government.

In view of this, he called on Umno, which is the backbone of the government, to adopt a civil approach and to understand the aspirations of this group.

“We have seen their influence, so Umno must do something in order for them to understand the party’s struggle,” he added.

Therefore, he said that youths must be given the space to voice out in Umno and their involvement should not be curtailed.

“If their voices are sidelined and their involvement curtailed due to concern that their presence will threaten the position of existing leaders, this group will eventually turn to the opposition,” he added.

Syed Ali called on Umno, especially the Youth wings, to be more aggressive in devising strategies to court the youth.

“The youth want recognition and space to put forth their ideas and views,” he added.

On the same note, the veteran politician also expressed concern that youths, including undergraduates, are becoming “radical and aggressive” after falling prey to “confusing facts” peddled by pro-opposition forces.

He cited the recent incident at Universiti Malaya as an example.

“The incident in UM is an example of how youths are used by pro-opposition forces just to express support for a certain individual,” he said.

Syed Ali was referring to students who stormed through the locked gates at UM to hear opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s speech.