UMNO leaders must embrace hipster culture to woo urban voters - DPM

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the culture wave triggered circa 1990s was largely a new lifestyle of the middle class society of the urban society.

Ahmad Zahid, the UMNO vice president said urbanites have more sophisticated needs that evolve according to present trend compared to rural communities.

"This hipster culture is a reality. As such, provide services that are tailored to the targeted hipster culture. Hipster culture is a new change in lifestyle," he said when officiating the Shah Alam UMNO Division Delegates meeting here today.

Ahmad Zahid said the urban communities had grievances on various issues that were more complex and which was not similar to those faced by rural communities.

"In that situation, they (urban community) introduced a lifestyle that is called the hipster culture. If previously they drink at the mamak shop, now it is a fast food resturant. If at the mamak shop, a glass of coffee is RM2.50 but the same coffee at other places could be RM15," he said.

Also present were Selangor Umno Liaison Committee chairman Tan Sri Noh Omar and Shah Alam UMNO Division chief Datuk Azhari Shaari.

Meanwhile Ahmad Zahid urged the leadership of Shah Alam UMNO Division to adopt the hipster culture strategy in the next general election in efforts to wrest back the Shah Alam Parliamentary seat from the opposition.

He also said the culture also managed to provide sources of income from the business perspective to the urban community with 31,000 businesses registered online with the Commission Companies of Malaysia to open hipster cafes.

"In addition, a total of 1.18 million women entrepreneurs are registered with SSM to conduct online businesses suh as fashion items activities. This is the new hipster culture," he said.

Bernama reported that Ahmad Zahid directed Mara and TEKUN to facilitate loan applications by food trucks in urban areas, especially in Shah Alam.

In another development, Ahmad Zahid said the UMNO leadership must stop pointing fingers at each other on the rejection of urban voters' support against the party.

He pointed out that whenever an area was developed, strangely enough the people's support for the party weakened.

"We provide social and infrastruture facilities in the towns. Similarly telecommunications and other structures, we provide. But we lose seats in urban areas," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said the party leadership and country were aware of each problem faced by the people, including in Shah Alam which is undergoing transformation due to urbanisation.

However, he said every problem should not be placed on the shoulders of the prime minister or deputy prime minister alone and all parties, including government officials and leaders of non governmental organisations played a role in remedying the situation.