You will never walk alone, Puteri chief tells Najib
KUALA LUMPUR: “Yang Amat Berhormat Presiden, please know this, you will never walk alone (YNWA)”, was Puteri Umno chief Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin’s message to party president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The message not only lifted Najib’s mood, but also the navy blueclad 2,718 delegates in Dewan Merdeka, as they roared their approval to the call from the deputy culture and tourism minister.
The significance of the statement made in her winding-upspeech, which was also the rallying cry for Liverpool Football Club, was not lost on the audience, who saw the lighter side of it.
Mas Ermieyati joined in the fun and said there was nothing wrong with using the anthem.
“Even though we know that the president is a die-hard Manchester United fan, in this battle, there’s nothing wrong with using Liverpool’s ‘war cry’ to demonstrate loyalty and resolve. Liverpool supporters have remained steadfast, even though their glory years ended in the 1990s.
“This is the spirit that we want to see in Umno members,” she said yesterday.
Mas Ermieyati said the party’s “pink soldiers” were preparing for the 14th General Election (GE14) with thousands of its members trained for the information technology (IT) machinery.
“This team consists of IT engineers and call centre staff to address inquiries by the public. Puteri approaches women aged 40 and below, especially those who will vote for the first time. We deploy some 65,000 election machinery personnel through Jalinan Rakyat Plus, along with Wanita Umno and Youth.”
She said while Islam had a high regard for women, there were some quarters who trivialised the roles played by this group.
“Women comprised of 50.23 per cent of voters in the last general election.
“Up to September, voters aged 40 and below represented 40 per cent of the voting population.
“The voices of youth must be heard by fielding winnable, likeable, workable and capable candidates in GE14.”
She said Umno had always been the protector of Malays and Malaysians, in line with “Mentaliti Negaraku”.
“The hard work must be intensified.
“Don’t be preoccupied with countering attacks by the opposition and forget to tell our success stories, especially achievements through Najibnomics, that are enjoyed by Malaysians.”