UMNO not rattled, party unity strong - Hishammuddin

Hishammuddin said the unity of UMNO members who had been taught to put the party above personal interests was its strength in facing challenges since it was established 70 years ago.

"As such, we can face the general assembly this time while still protecting our 'home'.

"It is our hope that when we leave the UMNO General Assembly this year, people will look at UMNO as having one front, one party, one institution, and we still close ranks," he said in a special interview ahead of the 2016 UMNO General Assembly.

Hishammuddin who is also Defence Minister, said what was important during this assembly was that UMNO must look at its own strengths and what needed to be done to ensure the party remained strong and able to face the challenges of the 14th General Election.

Hishamuddin said hopefully, the UMNO General Assembly this time would focus more on discussing efforts to strengthen the party machinery and confidence of every party member in preparing for the coming general election.

He said the UMNO machinery must show a 'winning mentality' to ensure the party would win big in the general election.

"The general election this time begins with the UMNO General Assembly, begins with us realising that our agenda is bigger than just looking at preserving the leadership but also to ensure our nation can be protected in the current uncertain times, in the context of the economy, religion, politics and security. Now, let us focus on the election."

He said there was still a lot of work to be done in facing the general election, and UMNO members should not be complacent but to strengthen the machinery further in order to ensure victory for the party.

On the party's internal challenges and attacks from former leaders, Hishammuddin said this was not something new and that he was confident that UMNO could handle the test as it had been able to do so before.

"We still remember when UMNO was de-registered, we remember the time when Semangat 46 was formed, but we succeeded in overcoming it," he said.

The Sembrong member of Parliament also questioned the actions of former leaders, including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed who had now changed his stand and was willing to work with the enemy to bring down UMNO and its leadership.

"Even the founder of UMNO himself, Datuk Onn Jaafar decided to withdraw, but he did not ask the people to disrupt the nation through street demonstrations and he did not shame the UMNO leaders then, he held to this principle (prioritising the party)," he said.

Asked if he felt burdened by the workload during the UMNO General Assembly from Nov 29 until Dec 3, Hishammuddin said he did not feel pressured despite the fact that he no longer had the help of two other vice-presidents, namely Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who was now carrying out the duties of deputy president, and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal who left the party.

"This year, we are clearer about what we have to do, so I do not feel so pressured. We have identified the speakers, and the draft of the resolutions has been drawn up. I only need to meet with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to get a drift of his policy speech," he said.