UMNO’s current goal to defend and ensure success of unity government – Mohamad

KUALA LUMPUR: Party UMNO’s main focus politically is to defend and ensure the success of the Unity Government by pooling together all resources, expertise and experience within the party.
UMNO Deputy President Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said to ensuring the success of the Unity Government was important and vital because UMNO must do the right thing for the country.
“The country has gone through an uncertain prospect for four years, without a clear objective or direction. We cannot allow such a situation to continue.
“Therefore, we must use the unique opportunity presented to differentiate UMNO from other political parties and to show that we are not just a permissive party. We have the expertise, quality, knowledge and experience that we can be put to good use to turn the existing government into one that is capable, clean and trustworthy,” he said.  
Mohamad said this when opening the UMNO Women, Pemuda and Puteri general assembly which was also attended by three vice presidents, namely Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail and Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, here on Wednesday.
Mohamad who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) deputy chairman said UMNO’s position in the Unity Government has opened new potential opportunities for the party.
“UMNO and BN are going through a very important ‘political experiment’. Whatever it may be called – new network, new coalition, new understanding. What is clearly evident is that, it is a new political direction where ‘business as unusual’ that is to form a new political understanding based on political unity and political conformity that is based on Unity and National interest.
“If for tens of years UMNO has been used to the political understanding of ‘to rule’ the trend that we are currently going through is ‘to unite and to govern’. We are witnessing the emergence of political partnership, goodwill, political unity and political conformity,” he said.
Recapping the participation of UMNO to form the government, the Defence Minister said based on reality and the position of the party that lost the majority, the UMNO leadership had found a political solution, that of, to assist the Pakatan Harapan to form the Unity Government.
“Upon realising how our influence has waned in the eyes of voters and for UMNO’s survival, we must find a way to be a part of the government. With Allah’s blessings, UMNO and BN with only 30 seats were destined to become the deciding factor in the formation of the new government,” he said.
Mohamad also urged everyone in the party to not disseminate confusing narratives and put a stop to all confusion as well as work like the government belongs to UMNO and administered fully by UMNO.
He urged the Women, Pemuda and Puteri movements to use the general assembly as a platform to pledge that they will shoulder the responsibility of leading together with our political partners in the Unity Government.
Mohamad also pledged that though there are 19 parties within the Unity Government, UMNO will continue to uphold Islam and Malay rights within the virtues of moderation and with values of diversity practiced in Malaysia.
He added that the time was rife for UMNO leaders to pass on the baton to the young generation for continuity on a more serious and systematic approach because the young generation will become the pillars to continue the struggles of the party and achieve the goals set for the nation.
“Therefore, to the leaders of Pemuda and Puteri, me and my fellow leaders in the UMNO Supreme Council will not discount the role played by the young leaders in strengthening UMNO to its original prowess,” he said.
— BERNAMA