KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 – The UMNO presidential briefing delivered by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday which touches three current polemics that have been plaguing the party, is seen as capable of clarifying any doubts on all the baseless allegations hurled at UMNO.
Najib’s openness in explaining the polemic on 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), the RM2.6 billion political fund and the current economic challenges was timely to clarify any doubts among UMNO members. UMNO supreme council (MT) member Datuk Seri Hasan Malek said the explanation which was made based on real facts would become a catalyst for efforts to restore the credibility of the party and the government which had been implicated in various controversies.
Thunderous applause by some 2,000 delegates of the UMNO General Assembly 2015 and calls of ‘Hidup Najib’ (Long Live Najib) after the briefing gave a clear message that the solidarity of the members of the party remains intact. He said now it was the delegates’ responsibilities to disseminate information obtained at the presidential briefing to the grassroots so that they would receive clear explanation on the issues and at the same time not be easily deceived or influenced by certain parties.
“An accurate explanation can strengthen unity among UMNO members, and they must understand their roles and duties so that after this we can avoid the culture of finger pointing in any problem faced. Do not play up internal issues…we should work together so that any problem can be solved properly,” he said.
UMNO as the backbone of Barisan Nasional (BN) is aware that if major issues which have been plaguing the party are not handled and managed well, it could have an impact particularly on the survival of the party. With just about two and a half years to go before the 14th General Election (GE14), UMNOshould take immediate action to restore public confidence in the party.
“The challenges faced by the party now was to change the negative perceptions of the people about UMNO. The public perception that UMNO is experiencing a severe crisis arises because UMNO is the backbone of the government, then it is given attention by the public compared to the opposition which is also experiencing an endless crisis but lack public attention. What is happening today is part of the process in order to become a mature party. I am confident that based on UMNO maturity through all these years, we will manage to go through this together,” UMNO Youth Exco Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya said.
