UMNO Youth, Puteri to dissect defeat in GE15

KUALA LUMPUR: The UMNO Youth and Puteri wings will conduct a post-mortem on the party's defeat in the 15th General Election (GE15).

UMNO Youth chief Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said for that purpose, they have established a team led by Paya Besar Member of Parliament Mohd Shahar Abdullah.

When winding up his policy speech at the UMNO Youth Assembly, Asyraf said the party needed a new detailed and holistic approach to face the upcoming state election (PRN) and general election (GE).

"... we are down to 30 (seats) yet still bickering. The generation of young people must rise again, don't be obsessed with individuals, the 'tauke-tauke' (business owners). Don't be afraid, the rise and fall of our party are in our hands, our loyalty is to the UMNO party only. For us to win GE16 and PRN depends on our attitude," he said.

Meanwhile, Puteri UMNO chief Datuk Zahida Zarik Khan said the women's wing would hold a special post-mortem to examine the real factors that caused young people to abstain from the party in the last GE, to ensure that Puteri UMNO remains relevant to the group.

"We cannot use the same concept or method ... we should not just lay blame on each other but find a solution together to convince the young people out there to come back with us for GE16," she said.

At the same time, she said UMNO's social media channels needed to be taken seriously, empowered, and should rightly become the party's 'core business' and turned into a vital task force.

According to Zahida, Puteri UMNO asks the party leadership to provide a body or a special fund to ensure that the party's social media channels are empowered at all levels.

"We must empower our social media channels; we can no longer fall behind. We must reform our existing social media, ... focus and segmentalise virality directly to the target group, no longer randomly," she said.

Meanwhile, Wanita chief Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad called on the party's leadership to field at least 30 per cent of women candidates in the six PRNs after the target was not achieved in GE15.

Acknowledging that the request is not new, the Parit Sulong Member of Parliament said UMNO has many qualified individuals with various educational and career backgrounds to be fielded.

"In the Johor PRN, women only made up 25 per cent of the candidates, we will continue to fight for this matter consistently. We want women representatives who will participate in the UMNO General Assembly to put pressure on the party leadership," she said.

-- BERNAMA