PUSHING FOR MORE FEMALE CANDIDATES
Party needs to adapt to changing political ecosystem, says Wanita Umno chief
ESTABLISHED in 1949 as Sekretariat Kaum Ibu before changing its name to Kaum Ibu Umno in 1951 and later, Wanita Umno, the “backbone of Umno” has fought side by side with its male counterparts in the party.
Its chief, Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, speaks on Wanita Umno’s evolution and preparations for the 14th General Election. Q: Some say GE14 will be the most challenging one yet. What is your take on this?
A: I have been in Umno for a very long time and it has given me invaluable experience.
For me, every election is important. No election is more critical or important than previous ones. Every election is the “mother of all elections”. It is not going to be easy. GE13 wasn’t easy either. As Wanita Umno chief, I know there is no such thing as a holiday for a politician. Every day is election day. Q: How does Wanita Umno set itself apart from the opposition parties to ensure that the people continue supporting the party? Muslimat Pas, for
example, tries to appeal to the older generation of female Muslims.
A: First of all, I must dispel the myth that Wanita Umno is not Islamic enough.
We have 1.3 million members who are voters and we have been fighting for “dunia” (world) and “akhirat” (hereafter).
We must remember that in Islam, our duties include the development of our nation and its people.
Secondly, Wanita Umno is very well-equipped. We have our fair share of women who are wellversed in religion as well as professionals.
We have a good mix of members, which is important, and I believe this is why Wanita Umno continues to be well-accepted in rural and urban areas. Q: Can you elaborate on Wanita Umno fighting for “dunia” and “akhirat”? How does Umno balance between serving all races and, at the same time, upholding Islam?
A: I believe that as a good Muslim, we must be successful and knowledgeable because only then can we propagate Islam correctly.
If a government does not bring about progress and development, it will be hard to propagate the religion you believe in, to build mosques, to send the ummah to top schools, to get the best education, and to do business.
We have a very good leader as our prime minister, who ensures that Malaysia remains a safe and stable country with good economic growth.
The future is bright for young Malaysians. From the religious point of view, we have educated many ulama by encouraging our youth to attend religious and conventional schools. Q: Political parties are featuring more young leaders amid calls for rejuvenation and youth empowerment. How does Wanita Umno evolve in tandem with the new political landscape?
A: We must accept the fact that political parties must be inclusive.
We must have women, the younger generation, and also those with experience in our party.
Wanita Umno has veteran leaders with experience that money can’t buy.
I don’t think they should be discarded. They bring with them a wealth of experience.
At the same time, we also have women leaders in the middle-age group who are highly qualified, committed, loyal, passionate about Umno and Barisan Nasional’s cause.
Umno also has young female members in Puteri Umno. I work closely with Puteri Umno because they are our children.
This is a good training ground for them.
female AslWanita election Umno candidates. chief, my No. 1 concern is that there should be a sufficient number of Otherwise, BN and Umno would not send out the right signals. Q: Wanita Umno’s Jalinan Rakyat (JR) has contributed to the party’s success in gathering grassroots support, and it was recently transformed into JR Plus to empower the machinery. Are there plans to upgrade JR Plus and how does it deal with cyber warfare?
A: We believe we need to transform to adapt to the changing political ecosystem. For instance, the number of young voters has increased.
We had a discussion with party president Datuk Seri Najib Razak on this and I want to make sure that our machinery undergoes a transformation. We continue to subscribe to the values that made Malaysia great. But, we must change the methods in which we work to be in sync with
the demands of the present ecosystem.
Social media will be the main instrument for communications. We are realistic politicians. We sat down and came out with this transformation plan.
We also want to rope in Pemuda Umno and to create a strong and credible machinery. As for cyber warfare, Wanita has a twopronged approach.
We still maintain the traditional approach. It is important for politicians to face the rakyat in good and bad times.
But, at the same time, we cannot be left behind. Our members are tech-savvy. They are active on social media platforms to disseminate the right information to the people.