WE ARE IN A POLITICAL WAR ZONE, SET ASIDE PERSONAL AGENDAS, ZAHID TELLS UMNO MEMBERS

Set aside personal interests, Zahid urges party members

unite and set aside personal interests to strengthen the party and win the polls comfortably.

He said this would also form the crux of his message to Umno delegates at the party’s general assembly, scheduled to take place next week.

“We are in a political war zone. If there are hidden personal agendas, we should set those aside to achieve our objectives,” he said in response to a question on whether the party had regrouped following the formation of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Parti Warisan Sabah, by ejected senior Umno leaders, which also resulted in some Umno members leaving to join the two parties. Zahid said Umno would also need to use more wisdom to disarm political opponents in the run-up to the election.

He said this would involve disseminating facts and statistics as well as conducting arguments knowledgeably to win the minds of the electorate.

“We have to promote our credibility to the electorate based on facts and statistics (on Umno’s achievement in administering the country).

“Our engagement with the electorate and in social media must be also based on these two factors,” he said.

Zahid said three core elements that Umno members should observe when heading into the election was maintaining an “upper hand” over the opposition, strengthening unity and not sabotaging the party.

“It is normal to have political nemesis... but the three elements should be the shield for our party,” he said.

He said elements of sabotage from within the party had caused Barisan Nasional to lose many seats before when certain members, especially incumbent members of parliament and assemblymen, chose to work against the party’s objectives after they were not being selected as candidates.

On Umno candidates for the election, Zahid said all state party chiefs had submitted their lists to BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak for vetting