All UMNO members at the various levels are urged to rise to the defence of the party in facing various challenges in the upcoming general election.

UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said different approaches and thinking out of the box were necessary to attract the young voters especially those who would be voting for the first time.

"Like it or not, all of us have to rise to the occasion, we must give priority to the interests of the party and race, placing the interests of the people as priority, to champion the party's struggles without any excuse.

"It's up to all of us...We can move forward toward a new threshold with confidence and courage or we can bow down in fear, we surrender, we leave it to fate or we can let time determine the future of our people," he said here Saturday.

He said this when opening the 2017 UMNO branches and Masjid Tanah divisional cluster meeting which was also attended by the Masjid Tanah Division Head who is also UMNO executive secretary Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh and Masjid Tanah Member of Parliament who is also Puteri UMNO head Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

Hishammuddin, who is also the Defence Minister, said the votes of existing UMNO and Barisan Nasional (BN) members were not sufficient and the party wings must ensure that those who were out there would return to vote and register as voters.

He said UMNO must also be ready in all aspects to face the young generation who were easily influenced by the social media.

"The one-thousand-and-one challenges faced by UMNO today can turn into a blessing or change if party members were not ready to continue to look after the interests of the people," he added. -- Bernama