Khairy Jamaluddin, who looks set to be returned unopposed as Umno Youth chief, will use his second term to cultivate a more centrist approach for the wing that has traditionally been a pressure group.
He said that being vocal in expressing right-wing sentiment in defending the interests of the party was no longer appropriate.
“I am trying to change the DNA of Umno Youth from being mostly right-wing and Malay-centric to a more centrist wing that focuses on issues and their solutions,” Khairy said in an interview.
Khairy stressed that he would not compromise on the party’s core struggle to uphold the interests of Islam, the Malays and the country.
”We will still fight to empower the Malay community, protect the sanctity of Islam and defend this country, but the way we do this must be different,” he said.
One plan he has to re-orientate the wing is to set up a “finishing school” to groom potential young leaders who will be identified from the ranks of Umno Youth and Puteri Umno and from among new members still studying in universities.
The finishing school will expose the members to what Khairy calls “the new politics” and will train them on topics such as human rights, media relations and the social media.
“Whatever I can do to change the DNA of Umno Youth I will do in this last term and one way I want to do it is by rewriting our political education training module for use in the finishing school,” he said.
He added that both the Umno president and deputy president had agreed to the proposal to set up the finishing school which will be headed by supreme council member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
The 37-year-old Khairy admitted that his approach to politics has not gone down well with conservatives in the party who accuse him of being too liberal in his outlook.
“I get called all sorts of names, but I think this is the way forward. If I get a second term I will be 41 years old at the end of it, which is just the right age for me to leave Umno Youth.”
“What I want to do is make sure the changes I am making remain in place after I am gone.”
On the contest for the Umno Youth deputy chief post, Khairy said he supported all four candidates and would accept anyone whom the delegates chose to be his right hand man.
I carry this almost saintly belief that journalists are like teachers, informing us about developments, helping us understand them, and showing us the truth. They are people with strong ethics and high standards. Wikipedia talks of “truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability” in the context of journalism. A political journalist must be fair and unbiased, applauding the good, and criticizing the bad work of a politician or a party. But in India today, some of our most reputed journalists are shattering this basic tenet of journalistic ethics. They are politically aligned and biased in reporting.
What divides our political class grabs the attention of the media more than what unites it. That is the nature of the beast. It feasts on high drama. Conflict, confrontation, antagonism, crisis: these alone whet its appetite. Consensus, on the other hand, is insipid fare that turns off readers and viewers. Or so the media reckon.
However, if the media cared to subject the consensus reached by political parties on any issue to careful scrutiny, they might discover high drama of another, more sinister sort.
If these seasoned journalists have political biases, that’s perfectly fine. Like I said earlier, its their right. But then, they should become bloggers. By definition, bloggers express their personal – even biased – views, and seek out followers who agree with them. But when journos appear on mass media, they are duty bound to be unbiased and apolitical.
The real truth is that some of our seniormost, most respected journalists are making a mockery of their trade, harming our democracy even more than some of our politicians do. Such biased, colored balderdash has to stop…
A son of former Umno secretary-general and former agriculture minister Sanusi Junid has announced his interest to challenge Khairy Jamaluddin for the Umno Youth chief post in party polls in October.Mahathirism…, this old man is still greedy and think he can rule the Malay world. Glory of UMNO Youth??? meaning the days when corruption flourished, money politics and open racism? Err… What’s the difference between then and now?This move is Mahathirian, Badawi and the rest of the UMNO old boys should know this. If you know who Sanusi is, his very close relationship with Mahathir then you’ll know this move. Mahathir is paving the way for Mukhriz, he is going for Khairy to get at his father in law, Abdullah did not share the loot with him in office, plus Dollah took out the crooked bridge and Mahathir is stll mad,it’s a personal vendetta, thereof even a beer story here, San Miguel lost it’s chance to brew here after Badawi granted the lisence to Jazz beer, it short circuited a Mahathir clan move. Then there is a story about our biggest oil find that suddenly floated to a neighboring country and Mahathir I guss did not see anything of that too, heis pretty mad. Anything that bears any resemblance to Badawi must go, must be erased from history, just like he has done Hang Tuah, just as he ha done the Heritage oh the Malaysian Melayu, and the way he is trying to make himself the father of Malaysia It is ‘consensus’ of this nature that exposes the disconnect between the collective interest of the political class and the public it claims to serve. To jettison every move that would lead to more transparency and accountability of governance is what such a ‘consensus’ amounts to. It overrides, in many respects, all other issues that attract media attention. This is a grave pity for, at stake, is the very health of our democracy.
This unknown guy and never heard of is obviously using his daddy’s name to come to the fore to throw a challenge. Would an ordinary Akramsyah bin Mat dare to state his intention? Happen too many times siblings of some political ‘has-beens’ are trying to make it big and push themselves in the limelight.
This unknown guy and never heard of is obviously using his daddy’s name to come to the fore to throw a challenge. Would an ordinary Akramsyah bin Mat dare to state his intention? Happen too many times siblings of some political ‘has-beens’ are trying to make it big and push themselves in the limelight.
UMNO youth create more useless politicians! What glory is this idiot talking about? Can UMNO youth stop bribery, corruption, crime and raise the level of education in the country? UMNO youth is being watched over by you know who. So be careful!
This unknown guy and never heard of is obviously using his daddy’s name to come to the fore to throw a challenge. Would an ordinary Akramsyah bin Mat dare to state his intention? Happen too many times siblings of some political ‘has-beens’ are trying to make it big and push themselves in the limelight.
Akhramsyah, the son of former Kedah chief minister and Umno secretary-general Sanusi Junid, has confirmed his intention to challenge Khairy Jamaluddin for the Umno Youth chief post, the New Straits Times reported on Sunday evening.
Akhramsyah is seen as a proxy for Mukhriz Mahathir, the current Kedah chief minister and youngest son of former premier Mahathir Mohamad.
Khairy, the son-in-law of another former premier Abdullah Badawi, has stated his intention to defend the post and has also openly declared support for Prime Minister Najib Razak, the current Umno president.
Line-up loyal to Mukhriz begins to show up
Mukhriz had lost to Khairy in the contest for the Umno Youth chief post in 2009.
However, Mukhriz has moved on to head the northern Malaysian state and is now eyeballing a Vice President’s post, which is higher than the Youth Chief’s.
It is telling that Akhramsyah’s confirmation comes a day after Najib unveiled a package of economic policies aimed specifically to benefit the Malays.
Despite being condemned for the racist overture, Najib is believed to have hammered through the plan so as to make himself hugely popular with the Umno grassroots.
Such a step would help Najib lift himself out of reach of his rivals such as Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, whom many suspect may challenge him for the presidency with the backing of the Mahathir faction.
Some Umno insiders believe it was also a signal from the Mahathir camp that they were ready for battle and Mukhriz would soon announce his decision to contest for a VP post.
A win at the VP level would pave the way for Mukhriz to become the Umno deputy president and later on the president. By convention, the Umno president and deputy president are also appointed Malaysia’s prime minister and deputy prime minister respectively.
Second-generation assumes battle stations
It is not clear yet if Mahathir will continue to back Muhyiddin to take on Najib.
There are signs that the veteran leader may reconcile with his old rival Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, and offer an alternative line-up in which Razaleigh would go for the No. 1 post, leaving Muhyiddin to be challenged by Home Minister Zahid Hamidi.
Akhramsyah would help fill the vanguard leading the charge for Mukhriz. More candidates aligned to Mahathir are expected to emerge in the days ahead.
“Sanusi Junid had always been a Mahathir die-hard loyalist. His son is following in his footsteps with Mukhriz. The second-generation Mahathir faction is starting to emerge and they want control of Umno. It looks like we have a battle royale on our hands,” an Umno watcher told
