Zahid: Simple majority not enough
Barisan wants to retain Putrajaya and win two-thirds majority in GE14
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno wants to lead Barisan Nasional to regain its two-thirds parliamentary majority in the 14th general election, vowing it will not let Putrajaya change hands.
To do this, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said its members must have a winning mentality.
“Umno shall not lose. Umno shall not be defeated. We shall not allow Putrajaya to change hands.
“In this GE14, we have set big goals. We do not want a win just to form the government with a simple majority.
“We want to command two-thirds of the parliamentary seats with an even bigger majority,” Dr Ahmad Zahid said in his address at the joint opening of the three party wings’ meetings – Wanita Umno, Umno Youth and Puteri Umno – here last night.
Delivering a speech that focused squarely on the general election, Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is carrying out the duties of the party deputy president, shared with delegates what he called the three “A”s that would lead Umno to a big win.
“The first A is action, the second A is action and the third A is action.
“When the president (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) calls for action, mobilise the election machinery without any excuses,” he said.
Dr Ahmad Zahid reminded the three party wings to work together to achieve a huge symbolic victory of “2314”, denoting a two-thirds win at the GE14.
Umno’s general election candidates, he said, would be selected based on qualities, including being winnable, likeable, capable, trustworthy and intelligent.
Umno, he added, must also now focus all its energy and efforts on reaching out to individual voters using the micro-targeting approach as well as ensuring that all those who supported the party and Barisan go out to cast their ballots on polling day.
“The style of politics must also change, suited to the aspirations and the passing of time,” he said.
Dr Ahmad Zahid said he, along with fellow vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and secretary- general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, would be visiting the states to ensure that the party’s election machinery was ready.
Turning his attention to addressing the Malay community, Dr Ahmad Zahid urged them to realise what voting for Barisan meant.
“Know this, my people, one vote for Barisan Nasional means one vote for the formation of a reliable, responsible federal government.”
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno members must be prepared to face the unexpected “trump cards” thrown by the Opposition if the party and Barisan Nasional wish to remain in power.
Umno, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, must learn its lessons from the past two general elections when the Opposition “pulled their trump card” out at the very last minute.
“We were trapped. We did not expect such things and no preemptive measures were taken.
“No one responded to their allegations,” said Dr Ahmad Zahid, who is also an Umno vice-president, at the launch of the party’s information convention at the Putra World Trade Centre here yesterday.
Among the “trump card” scenarios he referred to were rumours that went viral in 2013 that 40,000 Bangladeshis had been brought in to vote during the polls.
Umno and Barisan, said Dr Ahmad Zahid, were caught offguard and urged members not to be trapped again in the next polls.
“We know who the operators are on the other side. They learned from us too because they were from Umno.
“They know our tactics, strategies and thinking. So, we must be better prepared compared to them,” he said.
Umno members, said Dr Ahmad Zahid, should not only focus on giving ceramah but instead rethink their way of communicating the party’s message to the target groups – the general public who were not Umno members.
“So, for small groups of ceramah, maybe get your friends to record or go live when the ceramah is on – real time – and hopefully, that information will spread over social media,” he said.
Dr Ahmad Zahid also warned Umno members not to allow internal sabotage to ruin their chances of winning the election.
“I see this happening. In fact, the Prime Minister has asked me to look at areas that are problematic,” he said.
There were also division chiefs, he said, who had not spent the allocations given to them by the party’s election machinery.
Instead, some of them chose to keep the allocations for the party’s division elections, he said.
“Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and I know who these leaders are. You cannot lie. We get reports,” said Dr Ahmad Zahid.
Earlier, he said the Prime Minister would decide on the candidate for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat, which is currently seeing a tussle between MIC and MyPPP.
“Let the Prime Minister as chairman (of Barisan Nasional) decide,” he told reporters after visiting the media centre at the Umno annual general assembly 2017.
MyPPP president Tan Sri Dr M. Kayveas had reportedly said he would run as an independent if the party was not chosen to stand in Cameron Highlands, which has been held by MIC since 2004.