Umno leaders say its Youth wing is loud by tradition

UMNO AGM | Umno Youth is traditionally vocal in championing the people’s issues, said party supreme council member Reezal Merican Naina Merican.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was just as vocal when he was the Umno Youth chief, he added.

“That is the perspective that is sometimes preferred by the people who want (Umno) Youth to speak up and I think what Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh has done has received perhaps the strongest support among others.

“There is a desire from the people, from members, to see voices like Akmal’s (above),” Reezal said.

He added that the youth must be included in the mobilisation of the party.

The former minister was asked whether Umno Youth’s aggressive approach had been successful.

Similarly, party supreme council member Mohd Razlan Rafii said the youth wing’s aggression helped the party regain Malay support.

He expressed confidence that this will continue to bring the party positive results, including in the upcoming Mahkota by-election.

“Of course, the strategy that Umno will use in each area will be different. Our approach to voters is different because of the demographics of the population and the different needs.

“But the core of the campaign is the same as before, which is to promote initiatives that have been and are being carried out by Umno ministers,” Razlan said.

The party’s youth wing was always aggressive in defending Islam, Malays, and the royal institution, he added.

He said this worked in tandem with the efforts of the party’s ministers, which centred on the interests of the Malays and Islam.

Voices of the youth

Meanwhile, Umno supreme council member Shamsul Anuar Nasarah noted that the party’s youth wing has an approach and character favoured by younger generations.

“It actually leads to issues that enhance and strengthen the party by getting the support of young people. Young people want their voices to be heard, young people want to be noticed.

“I believe a lot of people, as mentioned by the president, respond to any issue raised by young people, whether it is said at the division level or even in the Youth policy speech,” he said.

This showed that concerns voiced by Umno Youth were given the party leadership’s attention, Shamsul added.

He also expressed his trust in the youth wing, saying it has a lot of love for the party.

“They want this party to remain relevant and be accepted by young people,” he added.

Besides that, the party intends to remain one that represents the people as it is the public that provides it with victory, Shamsul said.

All three Umno wings - Youth, Wanita, and Puteri - are fighting to show the public that the party fights for the interests of the people as a whole, he said.

“That’s why this party’s approach and strategy must touch all groups, young people, old people, and so on,” he added.

A pressure group

On the other hand, Umno supreme council member Ab Rauf Yusoh denied the Youth wing is aggressive.

The Malacca chief minister said Umno Youth is a pressure group made up of future leaders.

“So, saying that Umno Youth’s aggression is restoring the trust of Malays or Malay voters is very subjective.

“(This is) because the market during the election for parties is very wide now with the existence of automatic voters,” Rauf said.

Meanwhile, Shamsul hoped that Umno has displayed its ability to govern the country and can be reevaluated for future leadership.

“Because, certainly in the matter of trust… we have already been contradicted on some negative points.

“But with the existence of this pressure group, it shows that Umno has regained its integrity and has the direction to make this party more relevant in the next election and form a more stable government,” he said.

Shamsul urged young Malaysians to see the advantages brought by the party, such as its high-quality leaders and good administrators.

“Many parties that have been proven to be crowd favourites during elections have relied on provocation and propaganda but finally failed to achieve the target of protecting the people.

“Only Umno is a proven party, whether it is in the unity government or any governments administered by Umno itself, proven to be far better than governments whose heads were not from Umno,” he added.

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