SERDANG, Sept 1 – Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi urged Selangor UMNO leader to come out of their comfort zone and work for the people to reclaim land at the General Election (GE) to the coming 14th. Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno vice-president said the Selangor UMNO leaders must make a change in attitude and mindset to win the hearts and minds of voters.
“If we want to re-state government, we must prove that the Barisan Nasional (BN) and UMNO are better than existing state. At the GE14, UMNO and BN Selangor will be more solid, strengthened support and encouragement and spur voters to vote for BN and UMNO election,” he said when opening the Selangor Umno division delegates meeting at the Expo site Pertanian Malaysia (EPS) here on Monday.
“I promised I would be helped UMNO Selangor amends, thereby recapturing Selangor on the GE14. Although I am not UMNO Selangor adoptive father, I want the ground to help the 22 Divisions Selangor. I will help strengthen the machinery in all parts, parliament and state assemblies to ensure UMNO Selangor strong,” he said.
In the meantime, the Deputy Prime Minister wants to support grassroots reinforced by the 14th General Election, especially among voters supporting China and India. Citing an example, he said at the Selangor Chinese support for the BN candidate in the GE13, plunged to 13.4 percent from 29.8 percent in the GE12. He said this is due to cultural berbenci-hatred inculcated by the opposition against UMNO and BN.
“This causes the affected communities and voters, especially voters. I say this seriously because I want to call Selangor UMNO leaders to change attitudes and take care of voters at the grassroots level so that we can win the hearts and minds of voters. Please change the thinking of Chinese and Indian voters to vote for BN in the next election because our approach is better than the existing state government,” he said.
I also would like to remind the Selangor UMNO leaders from becoming seasonal leader, is concerned with experts on the ground all the time. Do not just take care of them in the (leader) instead of the (members at the grassroots level) can not be taken out. If there is no support,” said Ahmad Zahid.
“We have to take care of leaders and grassroots members. We should not be the only leader of a seasonal peak during the party. Meanwhile, it was important to make changes to the approach in communicating with young voters to garner their support. The younger generation is now communicating online. If we want to reach out to these people, our approach needs to be changed, especially those who work outside and come back to vote in the elections,” he said.
