Three aspirants’ vision for party

KUALA LUMPUR: Umno’s president should not form a government by means of “backdoor discussion”.

Instead, he should lead the party to become an effective opposition.

Umno presidential candidate Khairy Jamaluddin said the party must form a shadow cabinet so that it could be a voice for the people to ensure Pakatan Harapan had fulfilled its promises.

“I don’t want to be a president who uses shortcuts by discussing with the government using the backdoor. This is unnecessary. We do not need to beg for life from them (Pakatan Harapan).

“Aside from openness, if I am chosen as the new president, the first thing I will do is to form a shadow cabinet as a preparation,” he said during a live telecast of Debat Awani yesterday.

The debate also saw the participation of two other Umno president candidates, Gua Musang member of parliament Tan Sri Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Tengku Razaleigh said he would make two drastic changes if he won the presidency.

“Firstly, for the past 20 years, Umno had been controlled by the higher ups to the extent those at the lower level could not voice out. I suggest for this matter to be changed and to let those at the lower level to be able to influence the higher ups.

“I suggest for a combination of young people and old people because the youth are energetic, more productive and (they can) have more exposure for them to move forward while the elderly can guide them,” he said.

Zahid said Umno could never be opened to other races because the party belonged to only the Malays and Bumiputera.

“The first thing we need to think about is what can we offer to Umno members. We have to untangle all of the problems in Umno so that the party’s spirit can be returned.

“Umno was made illegal before, which led to the formation of Umno 2.0. Now is the time for Umno 3.0 and Barisan Nasional, too, needs to be rebranded. I want to see all of the content, soul and spirit to be returned.”