Dismissing the rationale given by the Umno information chief, Umno supreme council member and Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan said the party elections should be carried out as scheduled as there were no strong reasons to postpone it.
"Personally, I think we should face the problem head on instead of running away from it. There is no use postponing it because even if we postpone it for five or six years, the problem will still be there and it might even escalate," he said.
Mohamad said Umno members have to go back to basics and ask themselves what is more important, personal agenda or the agenda for the struggle of the Malays.
"If they joined the party for the struggle of the Malays, then the party election should go ahead. There is no need for a postponement. If Umno members still love the party and still regard the party as the base to fight for the rights and honour of the Malays, they should proceed with the party polls, even if it is so soon after the general election," he told reporters after a State Exco meeting today.
The Mentri Besar was commenting on Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib’s statement yesterday that the Umno elections are likely to be postponed to next year. Muhammad had said Umno division leaders who met Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last week had unanimously decided to defer the polls to avoid "havoc and disaster". A decision is expected to be made at the party's supreme council meeting tomorrow.
Mohamad said if party members put their personal agenda above the agenda to unite the people, even if the polls is postpone until 2015, they would still act the same.
"We should not run away from the facts. If Umno members want to see the Malays stay united then they have to do something," he said.
Umno, Mohamad said, was given an “expensive lesson” by the people in the recent general and the party should resolve any problems as soon as possible.
"Umno members should think rationally. Don't try to sweep the dirt under the carpet, we must suck them up with a vacuum cleaner if we have to," he said.
Rizalman Hammim
26/3/08
NST online
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