Ahmad Zahid outlines five new directions for UMNO to move forward

KUALA LUMPUR: UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi outlined five new directions to enable the party to move forward in line with the changing attitude, thinking and country's political landscape.

He said the first direction is to forge strategic cooperation by creating understanding with political party partners and non-governmental organisations in facing the new political reality.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman said through the approach, UMNO can expand its network considering the current reality that the party cannot be alone.

"UMNO is of the view (that) Barisan Nasional needs to be given a new lease of life with inclusiveness. UMNO needs to be the vessel for Malay non-government organisations as its allies.

"We also need to approach Muslim scholar groups who are ready to be with us. In fact, the proposal for the establishment of the UMNO Ulama Council that was made some time ago needs to be expedited," he said when delivering his policy speech at the 2022 UMNO General Assembly at the Kuala Lumpur World Trade Centre, here today.

Ahmad Zahid who is also the Deputy Prime Minister said the second direction is to give fresh breath to the party with ideas and effective cadres, in accordance with the changing mindset and priorities of the people.

He said UMNO should present itself as a party that moves with ideas.

"While politics of development and service need to go hand in hand as this has been UMNO's strategy all this time, we must strive to highlight new ideas to answer contemporary issues and arising problems.

"We must establish an UMNO Institute as a think-tank, as stated by Puteri UMNO chief (Datuk Zahida Zarik Khan) in her policy speech. We will invite Malay scholars and experts in various fields to think outside of our regular box as the party's warriors for independence in this new millennium," he said.

In terms of cadres, Ahmad Zahid said he wanted to ensure that the idealism of the struggle continues to be cultivated and become a guideline for every UMNO member to ensure decisions are made jointly and responsibilities are shared.

The third direction according to Ahmad Zahid is the need to invest in technology and future communications to ensure the party does not lag behind in term of sophisticated and fast communication as UMNO must master current technology as a channel beyond the current social media platform;

"We are no longer only dealing with people who live their lives online but rather a growing virtual community. This community is connected in a world of their own creation like a video game," he said.

The Bagan Datuk MP said apart from that, face-to-face campaigns and ceramah need to change and adapt to social media and it is not impossible through metaverse technology to attract the interest of young people.

The fourth direction involves revamping the conventional workings of the party machinery to a data-based approach and analysis at all levels of the party structure in accordance with voter demographics and people's psychographics which involves studying personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests and lifestyles.

As for the fifth direction, the UMNO president said the party must polish and highlight new faces as the front of the party in addition to efforts to improve the quality of members and bring out their potential to inherit the leadership of the party.

"We want in the upcoming general and state elections, a line up of new faces as the front of the party. We will prove the fresh face of UMNO can bring and fulfill the people's expectations and we will not forget those with experience as they too will also be considered," he said.

-- BERNAMA