Umno supreme council member Mohamed Nazri Aziz has urged party members to think in more serious terms as the time for being "jolly" was over.

He said the 14th general election (GE14) was getting closer, and members should not rest on their laurels, but rather work to ensure victory for Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN).

He also urged for realistic decisions to be taken for the GE14, such as fielding suitable and winnable candidates in each contested constituency.

“Umno today must be firm in placing candidates. For example, if 50 percent of the voters in the area are Malays, then a representative from Umno should be placed there.

“If we take a look at Perak in the last general election, we (Umno) took back two (state assembly) seats namely, Pasir Panjang and Behrang and we won. In 2008, a component party contested there but lost.

“Umno is not stingy, but we saw what happened. It is clear, that we cannot take it easy by saying that we have enough seats, but be sure to win (enough) to form the government,” he told reporters after opening the Kuantan Umno division delegates conference yesterday.

Also present were Kuantan Umno division chief Wan Adnan Wan Mamat.

Nazri added that Umno should also be more firm on the issue although he was aware that the decision may disappoint certain parties.

He said such a move could be made in the Kuantan parliamentary constituency as 65 percent of the voters are Malay, giving Umno a chance to win back the seat from PKR.

Nazri also reminded Umno leaders and members to strengthen the party machinery ahead of GE14, especially in fending off defamation attacks from the opposition.

“Umno needs to strengthen the team before facing the enemy, and firmly believe that any defamation and slander against the top leadership is not true at all. Continue to work to help the people, cast aside all the slander, and never have a sense of doubt," he said.

-- Bernama