Politics

GE14: 'Do not be distracted by issues'

Explaining party policies to people an effective strategy for GE14, says Umno information chief. NST has the story:

Q&A with Umno information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa

Question: What is the focus of this year’s Umno General Assembly. Are there issues the party wishes to raise?

Answer: We will focus on building a momentum for party members to gear up for the 14th General Election (GE14).

We will explain the party’s policies and our success stories rather than issues, which, I believe, is more effective. We must not be too obsessed with issues as they never end. We have policies and programmes that need to be explained to the people and not only issues.

Q: Is the Umno information machinery better prepared this time for GE14?

A: We have more than 100,000 grassroots members who will be mobilised to meet the people and explain party policies. Our grassroots machinery will convey the party’s message not only through ceramah, but also social media. It is important to reach out to the people as we do not want to get to the point when the people have made decisions based on misinformation, disinformation or wrong perception.

Q: Youth are considered a crucial segment to tip the results in favour of Barisan Nasional (BN). What are the steps taken to draw their support? 

A: It is wrong to say that youth have an important role for Umno and BN only now. If we look back, previous leaders, including (first prime minister) Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein (second prime minister), all of them started when they were young. 

To me, it is not true when the opposition says the young generation today are against the government. There are 52 per cent of voters under the age of 40, and the remaining 48 per cent are above 40. Of the older group, some are the elderly and may not be able to vote and the number might drop to only 40 per cent.  

Therefore, I expect more than 60 per cent of young voters to cast ballots. Efforts are being made to reach out to them.

Q: How is Umno ready to win back states that were lost to the opposition?

A: We want to wrest back Kelantan, Selangor and Penang.  We want all states to be under BN as the Federal Government, or at least BN-friendly, in terms of administration at the state level.

Q: What do you think of new parties such as Parti Amanah Negara (PAN) or Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and what is your take on cooperation between Umno and Pas?

A: PAN and PPBM are not genuine parties. They were born not due to struggles for the people, but out of frustration, crisis, disunity and political survival of their leaders.

 I have been in politics for more than 30 years and I have seen a lot, for example Semangat 46 (now defunct), Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia (Hamim).There is a possibility for cooperation (between Umno and Pas).

However, the method of cooperation this time might be different. 

To us, we do not want those who are against the (Federal) Constitution to ruin what we have built. Whoever tries to ruin what we have built, directly or indirectly, are our political enemies.

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