Malaysia's success is Umno's success story: Najib

By Nuraina Samad

Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the story of Malaysia's success is the success story of Umno together with its coalition partners since it led the government after the country gained independence more than 50 years ago. “Let us not be worried, nor should we have any doubt. Malaysia, clearly, is not a story written by a failed administration. It is penned by a party that has earned the right to feel honoured and proud that the mandate given by the people had been put to good use in interest of the nation’s  - for their welfare and glory,” he said in his keynote address at the 62nd Umno General Assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday. The Prime Minister, outlining “10 moments” in the nation’s history from 1946 to the present time, that had served as a “game changer” for Umno,  spoke  of five pillars that could help Umno face internal and external challenges and adversities. They are Umno’s strength to re-invigorate the party, practice a balance or middle-ground principle in all sectors, regard the supremacy of ideas, put the welfare of the people before anything else and fulfil its promises.

Some 2,700 Umno delegates were among the more than 5,000 people at the Merdeka Hall yesterday morning for the opening of the three-day party assembly which many believed to be the last before the general election. Najib reminded the delegates that it was Umno and its coalition partners that had made it possible for the country to uplift the people’s standard of living, regardless of race through socio-economic policies, and the country’s economy. Umno, he stressed, has never been a racist party and had pioneered the spirit of compromise among the races which had led to social stability and national harmony. Taking swipes at the attackers of Umno and the Barisan Nasional, Najib countered accusations that Umno was undemocratic. Barisan Nasional leaders are elected, he said unlike in “party A where the Ketua Umum was not elected but is more powerful than the party president. In party B, one that uses a democratic label, but is not at all democratic. “How democratic is that when branch delegates choose 20 central committee members, and that committee chooses the top leadership?  And in party C, which supposedly champion a welfare state, its spiritual leader was not democratically elected but clearly is more powerful than the party president.”

“It’s the same with party A. More than that, in party A, the husband is the ketua umum, the wife is the president, and the eldest daughter is a vice-president. And then, the deputy president is….there’s no need for us to say it.” The Umno president’s speech, undoubtedly, set the tone and mood of an imminent general election. In a rallying cry, the Prime Minister called on party members to close ranks and be ready “because the time has come” for battle, to a thundering and reverberating applause.

The assembly ends on Saturday.

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