"Don't show your faces only when I am around" - DPM

"Do not go down to the ground and show your faces only when I am around," said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also UMNO vice-president, said there were a handful of UMNO division leaders who meet people at the grassroot level only when he was around visiting the areas.

"I hope leaders in Bagan Datoh will go down to the ground, division heads, Pemuda, Wanita and Puteri leaders don't just be there only because I am around.

"They (leaders) know I am busy, but these people pretend to be busy. They will only show their faces when I am back here. What kind of leaders are these," he said to a big round of applause.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Bagan Datoh Member of Parliament, was giving his keynote address at the Bagan Datoh UMNO division delegates' meeting here today, which was attended by 477 delegates.

UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein Onn officiated the meeting.

Ahmad Zahid advised the elected leaders at the divisional level not to just go down to the ground to meet the people when there was an election or party election.

"Come out...the people always observe the behaviour of the leaders, no matter how small, the people will always observe (the leaders)," he said.

In drawing attention to today's sophisticated conditions, he said UMNO's divisional leaders needed to change their way or system of communications to be more close to the people.

"It cannot be denied the social media influenced the thoughts and patterns of support to us.

"In Bagan Datoh, 60 per cent of the voters in this area work here while another 40 per cent work outside and they can influence the trend of other voters," he said.

In his speech, Ahmad Zahid reiterated that any UMNO splinter party formed out of frustration would not be able to last.

"UMNO was established out of a spirit of unity and togetherness. Although there were conflicts, we managed to overcome them as it is normal for political parties to encounter problems, organisations too have problems.

"If we dwell on our frustrations we will end up feeling disappointed. Enough is enough ...cast your personal disappointment aside, put a stop to feelings of hatred because UMNO is sacred," he said.

The deputy prime minister reminded all UMNO members not to be caught in retrograde politics just because of differences of opinion as this would lead to self-destruction.