As one of the three contestants vying to be Umno deputy president, Annuar Musa has outlined his thoughts on the future of the party.

Emphasising the need to continue defending race, religion and country, he mooted a "pragmatic" approach to studying Umno’s co-operation with other BN component parties.

“As the opposition, Umno must be brave, strict and fervent in defending Islam, bumiputera, the sovereignty of the Malay rulers, constitution and the rule of law.

“[...] The concept and participation of Umno in BN must (also) be studied.

“The principle of consensus between races needs to be updated, whereby the way forward for the party needs to be approached pragmatically.

“Several available ‘options’ need to be studied in order to achieve the goals of defending religion, race and our beloved country,” he said in a statement today.

Following BN’s thumping loss in the 14th general election, nine of its 13 component parties left the coalition. Its four remaining parties are Umno, MCA, MIC and Gerakan. 

MCA has since expressed that it will have to honour grassroots members if the latter want the party to quit BN, while MIC has rubbished such considerations.  

Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong, however, mooted expelling Umno instead. 

Like many other contestants in the upcoming Umno elections, Annuar called for total reform of the policies, organisation, strategy and modus operandi of the party.

He further proposed that leadership positions be open to young heirs, but did not specify any names or posts.

“While Umno is being strengthened and re-engineered, the doors and windows of its leadership need to be open wide to young heirs.

“Because they are ones who are our hope […],” said the incumbent Umno information chief.

Most experienced, most loyal

For the post of deputy president, Annuar is up against former Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Mohamad Hasan and a delegate from Pekan, Mohd Afnalizam Mohd Salim. 

Today, he touted his long history in the party and claimed to be the “most senior” leader for the post.

“Looking at other Umno leaders, it seems to me that I am the most senior in the party who is at the front-most lines. I have been an Umno division chief for 31 years and a supreme council member for 28 years.

“I was also one of the sponsors of the new Umno and helped re-build Umno after the power struggle between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in 1987,” he said.

Furthermore, unlike many Umno politicians who lost their seat in the recent election, he said he was able to retain his seat as Ketereh MP, even increasing his majority almost fivefold. 

In GE14, Annuar won in a three-cornered fight against PAS and PKR, increasing his majority to 4,626. In 2013, he narrowly defeated a PKR candidate with a 974 majority.

Also, unlike some, Annuar said he continued to be loyal to the party through the years.

“My friends in the previous cabinet, like Mahathir, Abdullah Badawi, Daim Zainuddin, Rafidah Aziz, Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Abdul Razak are all in different fields now.

“I am proud and am filled with a sense of duty, I have remained loyal to the struggle of this sacred party,” he said.

Annuar was formerly rural development minister from 1993 to 1999 during Mahathir’s first tenure as premier.

The Umno wings will conduct their election on June 23 while the main body will hold party polls on June 30.