UMNO AGM The threat of Bersih, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Jewish-American business magnate George Soros were among the highlights of this year's annual assemblies of the Umno wings, following the tone set by de facto party number two Ahmad Zahid Hamidi last night.

Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil likened Mahathir's swing to the opposition to a kiss between him and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.

"I am saddened that a former leader of ours is now working with the opposition.

"The day I saw him kiss Lim Kit Siang was a dark day in my life," Shahrizat said.

The former minister also said Malaysia was under threat from foreign powers such as Soros.

"He has not met Umno Wanita. As long as we don't work with him, he will not break our struggle," she said.

Dr M is 'spreading hatred'

Mahathir had quit Umno and became part of the opposition in an effort to oust Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Mahathir was among some 40,000 people who joined the Bersih rally on Nov 19 which sought for free and fair elections, as well as Najib's resignation.

Critics of the rally claimed that it was masterminded by Soros, who was alleged to have funded Bersih through Open Society Foundations in order to destabilise the country.

Soros had been accused by Mahathir of causing the Asian economic crisis in the late 90s.

However, Mahathir absolved Soros after the two met in 2006.

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the Bersih rally had no goal other than to promote hate for the government, and their desperation to wrest power was evident when they teamed up with Mahathir.

Umno Youth doesn't forget

Khairy interspersed his speech with videos of Mahathir's changed attitude, from condemning Bersih and Soros in the past, to now joining the rally, which the youth and sports minister claimed was funded by the American businessman.

He also took jabs at Mahathir's famous quip "Melayu mudah lupa" by saying that while Umno Youth would not forget the former prime minister's contributions, they would also remember the 91-year-old's betrayal of Umno.

"What the Malays in this hall will remember is Tun's (Mahathir's) betrayal of the party's struggle: By your fervour in setting up a new party to oppose us, your willingness to insult this great party and your drive to kill Umno," Khairy said.

Meanwhile, Puteri Umno chief Mas Ermieyati in her speech denounced “any foreign intervention into any matters in the country”.

No compromise

Outsiders, said Mas, especially “crooks like Soros” should not be allowed to influence Malaysians in determining the country’s direction.

“Individuals like Soros are the country’s enemy.

“Therefore, anyone who is in cahoots with Soros to topple the government should be regarded as a traitor, even if the individual once contributed to the country,” she said.

Although Mas did not mention any name, it was evident that she was referring to Mahathir who had lent his support to electoral reform group Bersih.

Earlier, in her speech, Mas said Malaysia should learn from what had happened in the Middle East, citing the Arab Spring and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

“Until today, revolutions that occurred in those countries have not brought any benefit and have only destabilised their economies and politics.

“There should be no compromise when it comes to the country’s sovereignty,” Mas stressed.

KJ praises counter-rallies

Although Khairy condemned the Bersih rally in his speech, he praised the counter-demonstrations that featured Umno Youth leaders.

In particular, he referred to Umno Youth deputy chief Khairul Azwan Harun who protested against the Myanmar government last Friday; Penang Umno Youth chief Rafizal Abdul Rahim who protested against cartoonist Zunar in Komtar; Selangor Umno Youth chief Zainuri Zainal who protested against the state government; and Umno Youth exco Armand Azha Abu Hanifa, who was detained by police for his role in the Nov 19 red-shirts rally.

"When appropriate, Umno Youth can still enter the ring and face anyone," Khairy said.

However, the Rembau MP said Umno Youth can't rely solely on protests and must become thinking leaders who can come with the ideas and solutions sought by young Malaysians.

Reports by Alyaa Azhar, Anne Muhammad and Zikri Kamarulzaman