UMNO should be strong pillar for BN, safeguard interests of all races

As the backbone party of Barisan Nasional (BN), UMNO must be capable of attracting not only the Malays but also all races to support and contribute to the survival of the party in the future.

Political analyst Prof Dr Jayum Jawan opined that UMNO should be able to become a strong pillar of BN component parties and a dependable party to non-Malays to continue to lead the government.

In this regard, the Tun Abdul Razak Chair holder and visiting professor in political science at the Ohio University, the United States said UMNO leaders should act as a leader to all ethnic groups and not limited to the Malays alone.

"Apart from drawing supports of the Malays who are still non-party members, UMNO should empower BN allies, especially the MCA, MIC and Gerakan because without them, UMNO's opportunity to maintain its position will be threatened.

"Support of the non-Malays, especially from the BN multi-ethnic component parties in Sabah and Sarawak is also able to determine the survival of UMNO in the future," he told Bernama.

Jayum, who is also deputy head of the National Council of Professors' Political, Security and International Affairs Cluster said the ability, wisdom and willingness of UMNO leadership and its members to transform could help the party to deal with various current challenges.

In order to remain relevant, he said UMNO and other BN component parties should be ready to rejuvenate their leadership and vision as well as featuring new and young leaders to generate fresh ideas, in line with the aspiration of the people.

"The people including the Malays want changes towards a good governance process such as transparency, accountability and inclusivity," he said.

MCA veteran leader Datuk Yap Pian Hon said the current political scenario had changed and BN would certainly face great challenges in the coming general election.

"Therefore, UMNO and other component parties have to change and reform to attract not only the Malays but also other races, to ensure that the UMNO-led BN government would remain in power," he said adding that UMNO's strength was vital to form a government with other component parties.

He opined that some of the government's policies should also be changed to conform to the needs of the multi-racial people in the country.