Khairul Azwan Harun is 42. If elected as the new Umno Youth chief, he intends to impose an age limit for Umno Youth, effectively cutting him off from seeking reelection.

But for Azwan, known better as "Azwanbro" among his peers, that is exactly the point of doing so.

"As it stands, there is no age limit. Anyone, even a 92-year-old can become Umno Youth head," Azwan told Malaysiakini.

Should he be elected as Umno Youth head tomorrow, his successor, who will be elected in 2021, won't be a day over 40.

Since Najib Abdul Razak was elected as Umno Youth head in 1988 at the age of 33, all subsequent Umno Youth leaders were below the age of 40, save for Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was chosen to lead the movement in 1996 at the age of 43.

In recent years, there were some Umno members with greying hair who nominated themselves for Umno Youth head, such as Dr Mohd Khir Toyo in 2009 also at the age of 43.

For Azwan, promising to make himself ineligible for reelection come 2021 showed his commitment towards handing the position to younger person once he is done fixing Umno Youth's problems.

"It is not about me. It’s about preparing the next leaders and providing them with the right platform and opportunity to mature and progress," he said.

Shipwright on a mission

Azwan did not reveal in detail what he intended to fix, but suggested that it involved a lot of restructuring and introspection.

"We need to change, both in the mindset and structurally to be a viable opposition.

"We need to embrace a process of self-reflection, self-evaluation and self-transformation," he said.

He said that he has experienced being an elected Umno office bearer at the branch, division, state and finally national level, providing him with the necessary perspectives to enact change.

"Finally, I became the Umno Youth deputy chief in 2013. With such experience, I know precisely where this boat needs to be fixed.

"I know where the issues lie and I've seen it all," he said.

Malaysia comes first

Although Umno Youth is known for its fiery rhetoric aimed at their opponents, Azwan has of late been portraying a more sober voice for the movement.

For instance, he pledged that as a member of the upper house, he will be "nonpartisan" when it came to voting on bills.

This, he explained, was necessary in order to respect the people's mandate.

"Pakatan Harapan is the government now and they were chosen by the people. If they bring forth arguments to abolish or amend certain laws, I would do my best to be nonpartisan about it and analyse the proposals first.

"I will not oppose for the sake of opposing. That was what we all hated about the old opposition, so we won't do that. Malaysia comes first," he said.

Azwan is a trained accountant and formerly with Ernst & Young. He was not fielded as a candidate during GE14.

Umno Youth delegates across the country will vote on their new leadership lineup tomorrow. There are nine candidates for Umno Youth chief.