The 14th general election (GE14) will be the most intensely fought in the history of Umno and it will determine its survival as the ruling party.

Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein said the party should be prepared to face intense competition to ensure it does not suffer the same fate as the Golkar Party (Indonesia), the Congress Party (India) and the Kuomintang Party (Taiwan) which were defeated during elections.

The defence minister said he was talking about the comparison not to scare Umno members but this was the picture and the reality that must be accepted.

"Umno must return to a new mandate, but it will not be easy. Therefore, I have a special mission today to tell Johor Umno members that efforts to ensure Umno's victory in the upcoming election must begin here, on this day, in the birth place of our sacred party," he said during the opening of the Johor Umno Convention 2016 themed 'Umno Spurs Advanced Malays' at a hotel in Johor Baru last night.

Also present were state Umno liaison committee chairperson Mohamed Khaled Nordin and secretary Md Jais Sarday.

Hishammuddin, who is also Sembrong MP, urged Umno members to face the next general election with a different strategy, appropriate to the current situation.

He said in Johor, he was pleased to see efforts already triggered by Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled with the introduction of several initiatives such as Progressive Johor and Caring Johor.

"Despite the initiatives to ensure Umno's success in the election, members are not to be complacent as there are individuals who are still not satisfied with the party leadership," he said.

- Bernama