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Charting Umno's recovery plan |
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Posted by admin
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Monday, 09 June 2008 10:51 |
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The plan might not satisfy the party rank and file and the country, and should it be rejected by the branches and divisions at their annual general meetings, the positions of the supreme council members could be on the line. ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR, NEW STRAITS TIMES
UMNO now realises that it badly needs reinvention and revitalisation following the clear message of the March 8 polls. There was strong rejection of the party and Barisan Nasional among the young and better educated. Many reasons have been cited, particularly its "unfriendly" approach towards the non-Malays.
The Umno retreat by the party's highest decision-making body, the supreme council, in Shah Alam last week delved into the very sensitive issue of "unfair treatment" brought up by the non-Malays, including BN component party members.
It was acknowledged that relationships among BN component parties had to be strengthened and the perception that the coalition was united only during elections erased.
The transition of power from party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to his deputy Datuk Seri Najib Razak was not left out of the two-day discussions.
However, no timeframe was imposed for Abdullah to hand over the baton to Najib.
The majority of attendees preferred to let the party elections take their course, allowing the grassroots to freely decide on the leadership at the branch and divisional ballots.
As only proposals were discussed, no announcement was made at the end of the retreat. Little information leaked out to the media after council members were apparently sworn to secrecy.
Najib and a newly formed committee have been given the task of compiling and evaluating views and suggestions on the "Umno recovery plan". A draft will be submitted to the management committee, which Najib heads, before it is sent to the supreme council.
The blueprint will cover ways to strengthen the party's Youth, Wanita and Puteri wings, and include clearer demarcation lines between the latter two.
Ironically, no feedback was obtained from young people, the target group thought most central to Umno's revival.
Plenty of ideas were exchanged on how Umno and the BN could win back the five states controlled by Pakatan Rakyat.
Negative reporting on Umno in the mainstream media was a hot topic, as were measures to counter anti-government websites and blogs.
The effectiveness of the first-ever organised brainstorming session for the supreme council will only be known when the recovery plan is made public.
The plan might not satisfy the party rank and file and the country, and should it be rejected by the branches and divisions at their annual general meetings, the positions of the supreme council members could be on the line.
A majority of supreme council members felt the retreat was needed because a wide range of issues had to be thrashed out in an unrestricted environment.
The two special supreme council meetings held after the general election were apparently inhibited by time constraints.
Instead of finger-pointing, Umno is said to have achieved "positive results" beyond charting a road map for its survival at the retreat.
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