Monday May 12, 2008
Wooing young voters ‘not just Youth wing’s role’
KUALA LUMPUR: The responsibility to woo young Malay voters to support Umno does not fall on the shoulders of the Youth wing alone, says Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
The Umno Youth chief said this was because the perception and image of the party did not depend on the Youth wing alone but the party as a whole.
“That requires all levels of the party to look at themselves. It requires a major re-think of our struggle and image of the party itself,” he said after the Umno 62nd anniversary celebrations yesterday.
In unison: Umno delegates throwing their weight behind calls of their leaders during the Umno 62nd anniversary celebrations Sunday. Hishammuddin said the election results had prompted Umno to re-look and change for the better.
“Four years ago the youngsters voted for us. We should see how we can accommodate all these different levels of youth in a country that is developing with different needs and push and pull factors,” he added.
Hishammuddin said while the party's basic struggle should not change, its approach should.
“We want to make sure the party is relevant and I feel we can do it,” he said, adding that the country was in a situation of transition with different levels of maturity.
During the general election, most young voters did not vote for Barisan Nasional because they were fed-up and felt that the coalition, including Umno, was arrogant and corrupt.
Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in his speech yesterday, called on the Youth wing to get close to the youngsters and win them over.
“Don't wait for them to come to you. You have to go to them,” he said, adding that young people had new attitudes and new perceptions and their strength was a catalyst.
“We need them to be with us,” he said.
News Poll
- Hisham: Johor and Negri princes may settle case out of court
- Pol-sec said to have amassed wealth under probe
- Transsexual worries for safety after negative reactions to ‘marriage’
- Lodge reports with MACC, Hilmi tells Pakatan reps
- DPP: Rape victim’s story consistent
- Opposition task force on GST
- Government paid RM125mil to maintain cars, says Najib
- Two managers killed in payroll grab
- Recognition for 700-year-old Batu Bersurat
- Barisan reps stage walkout after Azhar ordered out
- MIDA – shifting the nation into hi-technology
- Fatine’s family pleading for him to come home
- PTPTN loans – no more excuses for non-payment
- Seven arrested in Cheras drug raids
- Actor joins campaign to help HIV positive kids
- A murky future for Anwar and Pakatan
- Fairness for house buyers
- State to hold own team-building programme for civil servants
- Party to set up fund for the sick and hardcore poor
- Ministry cannot do anything about bridge collapse case, says Shaziman
RSS
